


Is There A Word

by Still_Always_Dreaming



Series: Heroes of Old [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: BAMF Natasha Romanov, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Recovering, F/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Recovery, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Therapy, Touch-Starved, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2018-04-08 03:31:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 55,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4289073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Still_Always_Dreaming/pseuds/Still_Always_Dreaming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world with Soulmates, Salem Sterling was convinced her fairytale ending was destined to be lonely. That was until a certain deadly and cold Ex-assassin emerged from the shadows and revealed that fate had a twisted sense of humor. Faced with a tortured Soulmate and a bleak future, Salem is determined to have her happy ending come hell or high water.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Twisted Fate

**Author's Note:**

> ***I decided to try my hand at a Captain America Soul Mate story. I hope you enjoy reading it! All rights go to Marvel, I just own my character and plot***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to try my hand at a Captain America Soul Mate story. I hope you enjoy reading it! All rights go to Marvel, I just own my character and plot

_"Is there a word for the moment you win tug-of-war? When the weight gives and all that extra rope comes hurtling towards you. How even though you've won, you still end up with muddy knees and burns on your hands. Is there a word for that?"_

 

* * *

 

From a young age, Salem Sterling was convinced that the universe despised her.

Ever since she was a girl she dreamed of a knight in shining armor who would sweep her off her feet and ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after. Yet it would seem fate had different plans.

She woke up on her 16th birthday to the feeling of slight burning across her chest, she blinked away her grogginess and confusion before realization set in that it was her _Mark_ , her Soulmark that she had been waiting for since she was a child.

With a start, she stumbled out of her bed with her long, tangled platinum hair hanging around her face as she hurried to flip the light switch on and shoved on her thick framed glasses to examine her new Soulmark from her dresser mirror.

As the full name of her Soulmate began to appear, the young girl stared with wide light amber eyes in wonder as the sharp jagged cursive began to form.

The burning increased before suddenly fading into a slight feeling of irritation.

Salem marveled at her pale skin and the new black words that were scrawled under the curve of her collarbone and in a rush of excitement she scurried to her laptop, tripping over her bunched up blankets that fell to the floor in her haste, and plopped down on her desk chair before booting up the computer.

She tucked a strand of curly hair behind her ear anxiously as she waited to begin her search.

Once the computer was loaded she quickly pulled up the browser, noticing that her slender hands were trembling with nerves as quickly typed in the name that had just appeared moments earlier.

Waiting for results to pop up, she felt a grin curl her bee stung lips at being one of the few rare people to have their Soulmates appear early; she began chewing on her bottom lip watching the little circle spin round and round until it suddenly stopped and pages after pages filled her screen.

The blonde blinked in surprise.

Newspaper articles and pictures littered the screen and she clicked on the first one and read it quickly.

Then read it again and then once more. Confusion filled her as her smile slowly slid off her face.

'This has to be a mistake; is this even possible?' she thought numbly but knew deep down that this person was her Soulmate.

As she began reading through every single article, looking at every single picture, and anything else she could find and re-read everything again and again until her parents knocked on her door when the sun had risen with smiling faces.

Their expressions quickly fell when the small girl looked up with tears streaming down her delicate freckled face.

She spent the rest of the day alternating between sobbing quietly and research, determined to get answers.

_'It can't be true, my Mark isn't faded,'_ she would argue with herself.

There were no other cases like hers to be found, and at the risk of being interrogated by doctors, her parents convinced her to stop her search much to Salem's distress.

She was inconsolable for months afterward; She made sure to keep her _Mark_ hidden and didn't speak one word of it to anybody.

She still tried to find answers, but no one had any information and she lost hope that she would have a Soulmate.

Despite everything though she grew extremely protective of her _Mark_ and she found herself staring longingly at the pictures she found.

Late at night when she would have bad days she would lay under her blankets and trace it with her fingers and letting it soothe her while letting her imagination run wild over the name that was on her skin.

' _James Buchanan Barnes'_

Fate had to hate her; why else would it give her the name of a dead man?

 


	2. Sorrowful Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for continuing to read!

_"I long for a touch I've never felt; Crave a hand I've never held; Desire the taste of lips I've never kissed; and dream of love I've never had."_

 

* * *

"How come those files weren't on my desk by 5 o'clock like I asked?" a rotund man grouched to a petite short haired blonde that occupied the only other chair in the small dark room, his beady eyes glaring at her and the young woman shrank further in on herself; the bad lighting made her pale skin seem sickly and the smell of mothballs and mold permeated the room and made her stomach twist.

Salem glanced at the clock on the plain white brick wall, _'5:08'_ it read and she nervously pushed her glasses up higher on her slim freckled nose.

"D-Dr. Fitzgerald had me do some extra paperwork-" she was abruptly cut off by the short man slamming his meaty hand on his cluttered desk.

"Are you his intern?" he barked and she flinched and her slender fingers tugged nervously on the sleeves of her baggy powder blue sweater.

"Answer me, Sterling," he ordered and with a quiet shaky voice she replied, "No, sir."

"That's right. You are my intern and I expect you to complete what I tell you to complete when I tell you to complete it!" he shouted and the woman could feel tears burn her amber eyes at his harsh tone.

Along with the anxiety she felt building in her chest there was anger burning in indignation at his harsh tone, but she bit her tongue as he continued to rant until there was a knock on the door to his small office.

Her boss, Dr. Keller, glared at the door when it opened and his eye twitched at the person standing there.

"Dr. Fitzgerald, what can I help you with?" the short man asked in a cold tone, Salem glanced up to the doorway to see the almost too handsome doctor with plenty laugh lines lining his tanned face, his cheerful forest green eyes drifted over to the girl and she averted her gaze.

"I heard that Salem was here, I need her assistance with something," he replied with a smile followed by a tense silence where the woman in question flicked her eyes between the two doctors.

The shorter man reluctantly gave a clipped nod and glared at her until she scrambled out of his office, stumbling over her feet as she did and shut his door quickly.

Back in the dull main office of the small but certified SHIELD psychologists that were hidden in the thick trees that Georgia was known for, she breathed a sigh of relief; until a hand landed on her shoulder and she fought the urge to grimace.

Salem casually slid out of the good doctor's grasp while playing it off as walking down the narrow white brick halls.

"How are you holding up? My clients and I heard the shouting from my office," Dr. Fitzgerald asked from beside her.

She ran a hand through her short curly hair and flushed in embarrassment causing her freckles that decorated her delicate features to stand out.

"I've had worse, at least he didn't spit on me this time," she grumbled.

The man stopped her by gripping her slender shoulders.

She looked up into his serious face and to avoid his gaze she opted for staring at his perfectly styled light brown hair.

"You know if you just say the word, you can work with me instead of him," he said softly.

She tried her best to give him a thankful smile but faltered when his thumbs started to make slow circles where his hands rested.

"I-its fine, really, he's all bark and no bite," she said nervously while inching away.

His eyes grew hooded as he stared at her, but a husky female voice interrupted his staring.

"I'm glad to see that she's in one piece," they both jumped at the sudden teasing voice and he dropped his hands from her shoulders as if she had spontaneously caught fire.

Salem took a step back and turned to a stunning redhead that was sashaying down the hall towards them dressed in dark jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and a black leather jacket.

Despite her playful words, her startling green eyes were hard as she looked at the doctor.

"Ah- yes, Sterling is alright," he said while giving a nervous smile at the curvy woman.

The blonde was still too busy gaping at her, even in casual clothes and bathed in bad fluorescent lighting the woman looked stunning with lightly tan skin and a heart-shaped face framed by thick red hair.

It was the infamous Black Widow and for a brief moment, panic surged back in her chest as the deadly spysassian approached.

The new woman walked up so she was almost hip to hip with Salem, who was a couple inches shorter, causing Fitzgerald to take some uneasy steps back.

"I would like to continue our meeting, my friend gets fidgety around doctors," she said with a smile while tilting her head in the direction she came, yet Salem could see the dangerous glint in her eyes indicating that the man had no choice in the matter.

Salem curled in on herself and tucked her arms around her and avoided meeting the agent's light green eyes when she glanced over at her.

Dr. Fitzgerald spluttered out an excuse before ushered the auburn haired beauty back to his office further down the hall and the Black Widow turned her head to pin Salem with a calculating look before they disappeared out of sight.

Salem let out a shaky sigh of relief and scrubbed her sweaty palms over the baggy denim of her dark jeans, she saw the agent on the news and was terrified yet amazed with the Avenger.

She walked back down the halls to her cramped desk on shaky legs, ignoring looks from the other workers in favor of watching her smudged shoes trek across the threadbare gray carpet.

She sat down and threw herself into the paperwork that littered her desk, forgetting about the harsh behavior from Keller, the smothering feeling from Fitzgerald and meeting up with the intimidating Agent Romanoff.

Time flew and before she knew it her eyes burned from staring at papers after papers, her back ached from sitting hunched over and her hand cramped from holding her pen.

She sat back and stretched, hearing a few satisfying pops, and she looked around the cramped room in surprise.

There were a few stragglers behind despite the late hour and her plump lips curled into a proud grin as she gathered the decent sized pile of work she accomplished.

She looked out the small windows to see the setting sun before glancing at the clock on her desk and she smiled.

"Looks like I get to go home early," she chirped to herself before blushing as the others glared at her while sipping their coffee, bracing themselves for their long night ahead.

Her apartment was a good hour away, but she didn't mind too much since she got to stay close enough to get to home at a reasonable hour.

Surprisingly, since the fall of SHIELD, everyone had been more paranoid and distrustful, safeguarding all that was left of SHIELD and putting in place even more strict precautions.

Getting this internship was a blessing and she was happy to share it with her parents before they moved away to enjoy their retirement.

She was glad they at least saw her making her way into the world and supporting herself.

She grabbed her scuffed bag and slung it over her shoulder before collecting her work and some files to do at home and quickly walked to the drop box for Keller's office, she stumbled a bit and nearly tripped but safely delivered the finished papers.

She waved goodbye, which no one returned, and made her way down the hall.

She had the files cradled against her chest as she hummed off-key and she shoved up her glasses once more before tripping to a stop in order to not get hit by an office door that swung open suddenly and violently.

She could hear Fitzgerald's distraught voice as he tried to stop whoever was attempting to leave. She saw Romanoff flounce out the room followed by another man.

Her heart nearly stopped at the sight of the tall muscled man with the hauntingly familiar face.

He was dressed in black cargo pants that fit amazingly over his long legs with black combat boots and a long sleeve black shirt with a leather glove over his left hand.

The sleeves of his shirt molded to his muscular arms and the material stretched taut across his broad shoulders and well-defined chest.

His dark hair was almost long enough to brush against his shoulders and it was mussed as if he ran his hands through it repeatedly, his ice blue eyes were hard as steel and his strong jaw that was dusted with stubble was clenched in irritation.

Salem's heart began to pound as every muscle in her body seemed to be torn between wanting to go rigid or melt into a pile of feminine goo.

Fitzgerald appeared and his wide eyes found hers, "Sterling! Tell them that we are the best at what we do," he begged and the small woman's mouth dried as the tall man's shoulders tensed as he froze before slowly turning to face the blonde.

His blue eyes were narrowed as he took her in and she took a hesitant step back while clutching her files to her chest. She saw Black Widow's green eyes watching the man closely and the good doctor frown in confusion at the sudden tense air.

The man's face was inscrutable, those cold eyes assessing and she began to panic as everyone stared at her. Salem's arms went tense around her files and her amber eyes widened as he glared.

"Sterling…Salem Lydia Sterling?" he asked in a low dangerous voice and she felt a blush creep into her cheeks and felt another shot of panic as he continued to stare her down.

She swallowed past a lump in her throat, feeling much like a bug under a microscope, and nodded shakily.

Salem wasn't prepared at all to handle meeting her Soulmate, but before she could react he did a sharp pivot and… _walked away_.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review and tell me what you think!


	3. Devil in the Details

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Thank you all so much for your feedback! It made me super happy to know that you all are enjoying the story as much as I enjoy writing it. This chapter is a bit of an explanation chapter where some things will be fleshed out. All rights go to Marvel, I only own my characters and plot***

_"Nothing is so strong as gentleness and nothing is so gentle as real strength." –Ralph W. Sockman_

* * *

 

Leaves crunched under her sneakers as Salem strolled through the wooded path with a dog leash held tightly in her hand, the quiet was peaceful to her frazzled nerves.

The breeze ruffled her short hair and the birds chirping in the tree tops were soothing and she took a deep breath at the serenity.

With the birds singing and the tall trees swaying in the wind, the sound of nature all around her she grinned as the stress from the previous days melted away.

After her sudden meeting with her very alive Soul Mate Salem had hid in the bathroom for an hour before escaping out the bathroom window and hightailing it home.

She had avoided her boss and Fitzgerald yet she found herself more and more distracted at how exactly was it possible for Sergeant Barnes to be alive.

"Get it together, Sterling," she whispered to herself and shook her head.

She had to focus on her work and she couldn't afford to be distracted.

She glanced up as a red bird fluttered past her, chasing another bird to the trees and she smiled softly at the sight.

"Fancy meeting you here," a woman said next to Salem who all but shrieked at the sudden voice.

Enjoying her rare day off Salem decided to walk with her dog at the local park where there wasn't a lot of people out.

She was enjoying the warm sun and the cool breeze as leaves varying from bright red to moss green fluttered around.

The sunlight hit her big amber eyes which lightened to a warm honey color, her platinum hair glowed and her slightly rounded cheeks were flushed, highlighting her freckles.

Yet here was Agent Romanoff nonchalantly strolling beside the young woman.

Her green eyes soft, lightly tan skin glowing with health, and a smile curled her full red lips as she spotted the dog that was attempting to drag Salem to chase a yellow leaf.

"Who is this cutie?" she cooed and the blonde pushed her glasses and gave a small smile in the direction of her pet.

"His name is Echo," Salem said lovingly.

The Blue Pitbull abandoned its chase and trotted back over at the sound of his name.

Salem patted his side as he sniffed curiously at the Agent before licking her hand in greeting, much to her delight.

The Black Widow was dressed in dark cut off shorts, a crimson long sleeve shirt, and black sneakers with her auburn hair left down to drift in the breeze.

Salem tugged subconsciously at her simple pink short sleeved shirt to make sure her Mark was covered as the taller woman squatted to pet the dog happily.

"So you just so happen to be walking here today?" the blonde asked quietly and Natasha grinned up at her.

"I actually wanted to speak with you in private," she replied and stood back up and they started walking down the empty wooded path with Echo trotting between them.

Brushing of her khaki shorts and almost tripping over her shoes, she waited until the Agent spoke.

"We want you to come work for Stark Industries," she said finally.

Salem did trip as she came to a stop, gaping at the woman who seemed unaffected at what she was proposing.

Before she could respond Romanoff shrugged.

"Or more like work with the Avengers," she amended and the petite blonde could feel her face drain of color before flushing brightly.

It was an odd sensation.

"Are you out of your ever lovin' mind, Agent Romanoff?" Sterling gasped out, clutching her chest at the insane idea of working with the Avengers.

The woman in question just cocked her perfectly arched eyebrow.

"You have to be joking. I am just an intern who gives physicals and files paperwork," she said in a thin voice as she quickened her pace with her mind racing.

Echo looked between the women, his gray eyes curious and Salem gripped the blue leash in her hand tightly.

"We could use the extra help, and there are some people there that would love to meet you," she called out causing the smaller woman to freeze in her steps before slowly turning around to face the Agent and raised a shaky hand to push up her glasses.

Echo sat at her feet and looked at the redhead with a slightly reproachful look as Salem ran her sweaty palm in a nervous pat on his head.

"W-who would want to meet me? I'm just an intern that never has left Georgia," Salem said hesitantly, trying to ignore her heartbeat slowly increasing and began to nervously chew on her lower lip.

Stepping closer to the blonde, Natasha rested a surprisingly firm hand on her delicate shoulder, her hair catching beams of light causing it to glow like flames.

"Let's just say that everybody wants to meet you," she said softly before swiftly tugging on Salem's collar to see part of the name that was scrawled under her collarbone.

Something flashed over the Agent's face before Sterling's knee-jerk reaction kicked in.

Salem gasped and shoved away from the woman, bringing her hand protectively to her throat and Echo tuned in on the panic that seeped from her now thundering heart and he let loose a low warning growl and his big body tensed as he eyed the redhead cautiously.

 _'The nerve of that woman...'_ Salem thought as she glared at her, face flushing with indignation.

"Sorry, but I just had to make sure," Natasha explained with her palms out in surrender, and after a moment of tense silence with only Echo's soft growls and distant birds chirping filling the air, Salem gave a clipped nod and patted the dog's boxy head reassuringly.

"Could've just asked, Agent Romanoff," she grumbled and the woman smiled apologetically.

"Seriously though, we would like you to come," she said softly and leaned close to gently stroke a still wary Echo on his twitching ear.

"We…I believe that you are the only one who can help. You are more caring and gentle than a standard lab coat and that is sorely needed," she admitted softly, her brows drawn together and her attention focused on the dog.

At her words Salem felt herself blush and suddenly felt a rush of awkwardness fill her at the vulnerable expression that flashed across the Agent's beautiful face.

Pushing up her glasses she cleared her throat, "What about my life here? I am not going to drop everything because of my bleeding heart," Salem said with a frown curling her plump lips and she nervously chewed her lip again as more silence passed.

They continued their walk.

"It's the man, isn't it?" the blonde said suddenly unable to hold back her burning curiosity, peaking at the Avenger from under her lashes.

Natasha's expression seemed surprised as her green gaze snapped to Salem who picked at loose thread on her pale shirt, "I thought you were too afraid to talk about him," she said curiously and amber eyes narrowed.

"If I am supposed to give up everything here than I want to know why," she stated firmly.

Proud of herself for sounding firm, but the feeling vanished when she almost face planted in the dirt when Echo darted forward to chase a startled bird.

"I won't say much, you can ask him the more important things," Romanoff said and Salem winced.

 _'You so cannot believe how much I can't do that,'_ she thought before nodding for the Black Widow to continue.

"Yes, it is about Barnes. I believe as his Soul Mate you can help him in a tremendous way. Give him something good in his life," she said solemnly and Salem nodded.

"Ah, yes. Helping him by figuring out his secret for looking so spry for a seventy-year old dead soldier," she muttered and caught Natasha's lips twitching into a surprised grin.

"That's for you two to discuss. We will let you intern for Stark Industries, will pay for any expenses you may have, and if you find out you want to return here then we will pay for your plane ticket and I will never contact you again" she said crisply.

Sterling took a deep breath and squinted up at the sun as it filtered peacefully through the tree tops.

Salem thought about her small sparse townhouse and how her neighbors barely spared her a glance or a kind word.

She thought of the cruel Dr. Keller who didn't appreciate any work Salem did, despite how hard she worked.

Dr. Fitzgerald would say anything for her to work for him, yet expect her to flit around the office while he leered at her.

Her co-workers pitied her and she continued to lie to her parents up in Montana about how happy she was.

While in reality her fairytale future was as bleak as her heavy heart.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Salem said softly to the redhead who watched her carefully as she mulled over the offer.

Natasha smiled softly and shrugged, "Maybe, but this just might be what you need," she said and Salem sighed heavily and pushed up her glasses with her forefinger.

"I'm bringing my dog," the smaller woman said finally, surprised when the infamous Black Widow released a relieved breath.

Giving her a beaming smile a card was suddenly in her hand as she offered it to Salem.

"I will call you later to make arrangements," she chirped and Salem raised an eyebrow but took the card that just had a number neatly printed on it.

"I guess I will talk to you later, Natasha," she said distractedly and she could have sworn a soft expression flickered in her startling green eyes, but it quickly vanished as she smiled and nodded and began to walk in the opposite direction they came.

She did stop to give the dog a loving pat on his flank before disappearing as fast as she arrived on the dirt trail.

Sighing again she finished her walk and when she finally scrambled in her old beat up car with Echo.

Salem scrubbed a hand through her soft short hair.

After a moment and a quick look around to make sure no sneaky Agent was behind her, the young woman reached into her gray bag and pulled out her wallet.

She placed the card in and hesitated before gingerly tugging out a black and white picture that she kept hidden in the back.

She held it gently between two slender fingers.

It was of a man in full old military dress with his hat sitting slightly cocked to the side on his neatly combed back dark hair, his eyes twinkled even through the photo and his full lips curled ever so slightly into a charming grin.

"I have no idea what I just got myself into," she muttered and Echo placed his boxy head on her shoulder and gazed up at her with loving gray eyes.

The petite woman smiled and kissed his nose and petted his soft fur, causing him to grumble happily and give her cheek a lick causing her to snort out a giggle.

Turning on her car she pulled out of the park and to her townhouse where she would pack up her things and inform her parents of her move while waiting on Romanoff to call.

Then she will be on her way to her new future.

Now, If only the foreboding sensation in her stomach would disappear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Please review and tell me what you think!***


	4. New Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for all these lovely reviews! I was debating if the next chapter should be in Bucky's Point Of View...any thoughts? All rights go to Marvel, I only own my characters and plot.

_"Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly." –Charles Addams_

* * *

 

The drive to Manhattan, New York was long and Salem was actually worried her old car wouldn't make it, but as she entered the city her worry turned to her getting lost.

Echo had his head hanging out the window and his tail was a blur as it wagged happily as he took in the crowded busy streets.

Enormous skyscrapers and tall building littered the city and cars zoomed by with blaring horns and angry shouts.

There were shops, parks, and restaurants abound with swarms of people weaving throughout cars and other obstacles.

It was a sensory overload from Salem's quiet hometown.

Her Pitbull would bark happily at passing dogs and she couldn't help but to grin when he got excited when the animals would respond.

Salem was in awe at the bustling city.

She eventually found the tall sleek building of the Avengers tower and it took her a minute to locate the underground garage.

She then met a nice man named Happy, who was the head of security, and waved her in with a friendly smile.

The man seemed pleased that she was there and some of the panic that ate at Salem dissipated.

The Pitbull crawled over her so he could sniff the man.

When they entered the garage Echo began to pace across his seat and tried to wiggle his way back into her lap.

That's where she saw Natasha Romanoff waiting for her dressed in black baggy gym shorts, a snug grey SHIELD t-shirt and sneakers.

Her hair was pulled up and her face flushed as if she just got done running a marathon.

Salem was dressed in Light wash jeans that were a bit loose, a pale yellow cardigan with a white button up shirt underneath.

Her sneakers were still smudged and her hair was actually behaving instead of sticking up in every direction like usual.

Echo was ecstatic to see the Agent and the redhead cooed at the Blue Pitbull as he bounded out the car door when she opened it to grab boxes and jumped on her to lick her face.

Afterwards she was shooed into a nice elevator that was bigger than usual and Sterling stared at her blurry reflection over the box in her hands.

Amber eyes were wide, bee-stung lips a dark pink from her nervous chewing and her freckles prominent against her ashen face.

The elevator stopped at a long hallway that seemed to swallow up any sound.

She was handed a key and Echo sat down, staring patiently at the women as she steeled her nerves.

Salem's jaw dropped when she swung the door open to reveal the room and Echo's paws clicked against the dark wood floor as he immediately went to investigate.

"This place is huge!" Salem exclaimed as she shuffled around the massive room that was assigned to her in the Stark tower.

The room had wooden floors and the walls were white, in the living room one wall was completely taken up by a huge television and a large white shelf stuffed full of movies and games.

Placed strategically around were black leather couches and a large iron coffee table placed in the center.

The kitchen was wide and spacious with shining steel appliances and a fully stocked pantry and fridge, there was even expensive dog food.

The bathroom had a shower large enough to fit three people plus her and the bathtub was deep and wide.

It was made out of white and black marble with black tile floors.

There was a spare empty room that she had permission to change it into anything she wanted.

Her new bedroom was probably the size of her old apartment, with an absurdly large bed with white fluffy pillows situated in the middle.

Two elegant ironwork bedside-tables placed neatly beside it on both sides.

The floors were the same dark wood and the closet was a walk in that could probably hold a department store.

Despite the beautiful room, Salem couldn't help but feel out of place in the too large accommodations and when she shyly informed the sharp eyed Agent about her shift in mood the woman hummed thoughtfully.

After her investigation, Natasha sat in the middle of the bed with Echo sprawled out next to her, pleased with his extensive search.

Natasha shoes were kicked off next to the bed and she was slowly emptying one box at a time while Salem found places for her belongings.

"I was thinking that later I can show you around the city and we can pick you up some things to make it homier," the Agent said nonchalantly plucking at the white blankets on her bed, but the hope in her green eyes belied her casual tone.

Salem had a sneaking suspicion that Natasha really wanted a friend and by some odd chance she wanted to be Salem's friend.

"Sure, that sounds awesome," the small woman said gratefully and the Agent beamed.

Looking around the spacious room as she finished unpacking her things, she sighed at the barely noticeable changes.

"Come on, I'll show you around now," Natasha told her when she noticed Salem start to fidget.

Sliding off the bed with a departing pat to Echo, the spysassian tugged Salem along and she stumbled after her.

She closed the door on her pet who had a look of betrayal on his adorable face, but now by herself the blonde felt the anxiety that had tapered off come back in full swing.

All around the building Natasha showed her and it became obvious that what Tony Stark wanted, he got.

There was the latest movies and games, technology that Salem used to believe didn't exist.

Everything was wide and spacious, perfect for the Avengers to mill around after saving the world.

It was in the recreation room that she met Sam Wilson.

He was reading a book that he quickly put down and removed his feet from the wide coffee table when they entered the room.

When she introduced herself his brown eyes widened in surprise as he stared at her.

He quickly swung his gaze to the redhead who stared at him with a pointed expression, he seemed to snap out of whatever his thoughts were and smiled widely at Salem in greeting.

He looked genuinely pleased when she told him what her new job was and she felt herself smile at his reaction.

"Seriously, you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask," Sam Wilson said sincerely as he gave her another firm handshake as she got ready to continue her exploration.

The young attractive black man was the newest addition to the team and she easily relaxed at his friendly demeanor and warm smile.

His brown eyes were sharp and she caught him more than once staring intently at her, but she shrugged it off.

She wouldn't mention it just like he didn't mention her sweaty palms.

He stuffed his hands in his jean pockets and Salem gave a small wave as Natasha dragged her from the large entertainment room that had enough couches, movies, games, and a massive television to make any frat boy swoon.

There was even a full bar to one side of the room and a soft rug that nearly cover the whole area around the couches.

Their shoes made soft pitter patter noises on the stone floors and echoed off the white walls.

Thor the Thunder God was in an absolutely huge kitchen piling an insanely large sandwich on a plate with a look of concentration.

His blond hair pulled back and even dressed in civilian clothes the massive man was intimidating, his broad frame clad in a white and gray plaid shirt and jeans and the very air seemed electrified.

Yet when he noticed them he was all beaming smiles and tight hugs that lifted the small woman off the ground and left her feet dangling.

After overcoming the shock of his show of affection she hesitantly patted his brawny arms.

"Salem Sterling! An honor to finally meet you. Perhaps my Soul Mate Jane and yourself would like to feast together to form the bonds of friendship?" he asked happily and her face turned red at his earnest blue eyes.

Looking to the redhead beside her for help, the spysassian patted Thor's arm.

"Let her get settled first, then the feast can commence," she said and the man grinned happily at the answer.

Thor smiled and clapped a big hand on her shoulder and nearly sent her to the floor.

"I am overjoyed that you will be helping out with my friends, the life of a warrior can be trying at times," he said solemnly and Salem felt herself soften towards the large man.

Romanoff managed to pull her away from the Asgardian and showed her the rest of the tower.

An armory, an infirmary that could pass as a small hospital, they passed the gym when Natasha stated with a tight smile that it was in use, and eventually to the enormous labs filled to the brim with technology and long cluttered desks on each side of the room.

The AI JARVIS informed her quite suddenly, she had blushed fiercely when she all but leapt into Agent Romanoff's arms with fright, that Pepper Potts dragged Banner and Stark to a board meeting.

When they ran into Hawkeye back at the recreation area, Salem didn't miss the way Natasha and his eyes met and held.

She glanced questioningly at the redhead, but didn't say anything, she didn't want to ruin the fragile friendship that they just formed.

Clint Barton was a handsome and cheerful man, his smile was teasing and his intense navy blue eyes were bright with mischief.

"So you're the Soul Mate of the Winter Soldier, huh?" he asked while peering at her carefully, taking in her petite frame and delicate features.

"I hope you can hold your own, he can be grumpy sometimes…all the time actually," he informed her, his muscular arms crossing over his chest and pulling taut his simple royal purple shirt.

Salem instantly felt her good mood shift and she pushed up her glasses and gave a confused look, "Winter Soldier?" she asked.

The blonde ignored the second part of his statement but couldn't help but feel herself pale as she pictured the intimidating man she ran into back home.

Black Widow glared at the man who suddenly had a look of panic cross over his features and he cleared his throat and grinned at her.

"Just playing around! Barnes is a cold one so it's kind of an inside joke," he stated and the blonde's brown eyes were still drawn in confusion.

"So I heard you have a dog?" the archer asked suddenly while rubbing his hands together excitedly and the small woman frowned at the swift change of topic.

An hour later Salem and Natasha were sitting on the floor smiling as Barton wrestled with a yipping Echo.

Salem glanced up when she suddenly felt eyes on her, heart jumping almost painfully against her chest, at seeing Captain America and her Soul Mate standing a few feet away watching them curiously.

The Captain was dressed in sneakers, gray sweatpants and a white under armor shirt that was molded to his well-defined chest.

Blond hair was damp and stuck up in every direction that softened his masculine features into a more boyish appearance.

Sapphire blue eyes were thoughtful and with a start she realized that he was staring intently at her.

He then glanced over at her dog and his face brightened.

Salem scrambled to her feet with Natasha rising gracefully next to her and felt her heart stop when her amber eyes locked on the tall figure of the former Sergeant.

He also had on sneakers and black sweat pants that hung low on his hips with a loose dark blue long sleeve V-neck shirt that stretched over his muscular torso.

The first two buttons undone to showcase the hollow of his throat and a leather glove covered his left hand.

His dark hair was damp and pulled into a knot at the base of his neck and his strong jaw was dusted with stubble, full lips were slightly parted and those ice blue eyes were intense.

There was a split second where their eyes met and her breath caught in her throat and her cheeks heated, his own eyes seemed to darken.

He studied her form almost languidly and she was convinced she could feel the heat of his gaze burn all the way to her bones.

Then her pet caught sight of the men and he zeroed in on Barnes.

After all the dog was used to seeing the man in pictures and in a burst of joy the dog shot off towards him like a gray bullet.

It seems like all those times where he was curled up next to her while she studied pictures and articles on the internet he was actually looking at the pictures as well.

The dog probably figured he was a friend and he wanted attention.

Feeling herself nearly faint in embarrassment as he launched himself at the man who actually seemed surprised, but she did get to see Barton pout from his place on the floor.

Romanoff merely quirked an eyebrow and Steve Rogers grinned at the happy dog. Sterling felt a brief sense of relief that Echo still had his leash on.

She dove towards the leash as it dragged against the smooth floor just as Steve Rogers reached for it as well.

They both leaned down and her skull cracked against his, spots danced in front of her vision and the blond man's blue eyes were horrified when she clutched her head and stumbled back.

"I-I'm so sorry-" she stuttered out but was abruptly cut off as Echo darted behind her legs and she tripped backwards.

She twisted around and slammed her shin against a coffee table that Barton had moved earlier, she fell and smacked her hand against the table knocking over a glass bowl filled with bright fruit.

As she landed sprawled face-first on the floor, the vase shattered and Echo jumped on her back and began to nuzzle at her worriedly.

Her glasses were shoved painfully into her face, her head throbbed and her shin and hand stung.

The heavy weight of the animal on her back did not help. Suddenly she could hear Hawkeye burst out laughing and tears stung her eyes as mortification burned in her chest,

_'Goodbye, cruel world…'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review and tell me what you think!


	5. Waited a lifetime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bucky's point of view is next! All rights belong to Marvel, I only own my characters and plot!

_“Darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer.” –J.R.R. Tolkien_

* * *

  
   
 _‘Smooth, Sterling. Smooth as gravel,’_ the blonde thought wearily as she gently swatted her dog away from her prone form.

Salem crawled unsteadily to her feet and glanced up in time to see Natasha shoot a withering look to Barton who was still laughing, but once he saw her look he paled and cleared his throat and began to clean up the shattered pieces of glass.

Captain America looked aghast as he leaned down and gingerly gripped her upper arm to help her to her feet.

Blushing hotly she found herself staring at anything but the silent figure in the back.

Barnes hadn’t moved an inch.

 “I’m so sorry, are you okay?” Rogers asked causing Salem glanced up, way up, into the concerned sapphire blue eyes of Steve Rogers and her pink cheeks darkened as the handsome man began to probe softly at her skull with long slender fingers.  
   
“I-I’m fine, just a klutz. Happens all the time,” she stuttered out.

He nodded and dropped his hands from Salem’s head, his expression relieved that he didn’t find any injuries.

The small woman cleared her throat and stuck out her hand, withdrawing it to wipe her sweaty palms on her pants, before holding it back out.  
   
“Salem Sterling, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said and for a brief moment she saw his eyes flicker before he clasped her slender hand in his larger one.  
   
“Steve Rogers and the pleasure is mine,” he replied and Sterling fought not to turn into a pile of flustered unattractive goo when he gave her a beaming smile that lightened his masculine features.  
   
His strong jaw, straight nose and full pink lips were certainly attractive, but the warmth and inner strength that blazed in his bright blue eyes had her nearly swooning.

Soon though, her heart jumped in her throat as she glanced at the man still in the shadows, now accompanied by her happy Pitbull at his feet, and swallowed thickly.

She took three steps forward before her feet decided to attach themselves firmly to the marble floor, Salem nervously pushed up her glasses and stuck out her hand awkwardly.

It seemed the very room was holding its breath, even Echo stared intently at the exchange.

Waiting with bated breath, she let her brown eyes flick over his features as panic began to set in at his lack of response.

 His ice blue eyes were trained raptly on her hand, she noticed in embarrassment that it trembled lightly, and his muscular body was tense.  
   
His jaw was clenched tightly, those plush lips pressed together into a thin line, and she could see his left hand twitch ever so slightly before curling into a fist.  
   
Trying to desperately to tamp down her disappointment she quickly drew her hand back and twined it with the fingers of her right hand and chewed on her lower lip as he continued to stare at her.

Salem rubbed her fingers lightly over her still throbbing palm as she waited for a response and froze when his lips curled back in a scowl that had her already racing heart pound and her face pale.  
   
“Be more careful,” he suddenly snapped at her and she couldn’t help but to flinch at his cold tone.

“S-sorry, it was an accident,” she stuttered out and hooked a strand of hair behind her ear.  
   
His scowl darkened and her mind raced to figure out what to say.  
  
 _‘How am I supposed to help the Avengers if I can’t even form a sentence to my Soul Mate?’_ she thought and really began to panic when she felt the muscular body of Captain America behind her slowly begin to tense.

 Barnes’s jaw tensed as if grinding his teeth and his eyebrows were furrowed while he glared at a space just over her right shoulder.

 Salem found herself curling her arms around her middle, nearly gnawing her bottom lip off, and cleared her throat weakly and said the first thing that popped in her head.

“It’s nice to finally meet you. I wrote a paper on you in high school,” she said, before closing her eyes as mortification filled her once again.  
   
“I-I mean, I was in history class a-and we were discussing the war and we were given assignments and I choose you because you always interested me…n-not because I had your Mark! I-I mean I was interested in you because I had your name, but that’s not why I wrote it,” Salem finished her nervous rambling and winced.

_‘First rule of talking to a former Soldier who possibly might have PTSD and supposedly died in battle, is to not talk about the war he fought in,’_ She pushed up her glasses and risked a glance at the man only to find him staring at her with an unreadable expression.  
   
She glanced over at the others, Natasha had a smug expression decorating her beautiful features, Barton was fighting a grin and Steve looked torn between horror and amusement.  
   
Turning back to face the man she found him studying her closely before spinning on his heel and, for the second time since they met, walked away from her.

It was quiet for a minute after he left, feet making no sound and Echo watched him leave with sorrowful gray eyes.

Salem bit back her sigh and pushed down the feeling of rejection before turning back to the others and plastered on a smile.

“It was wonderful meeting you all, but if it’s okay I think I will head back to my room?” she said, and after saying her goodbye’s and turning down Steve’s offer of walking her back to her room, she stumbled away gripping the dog leash in her hand tightly.

After getting lost twice and tripping over her feet multiple times, she managed to make it safely to her room, and once in Echo made a beeline for his food dish while

Salem plopped down on the large sofa face first and groaned loudly.

She flopped over on her back and scrubbed a hand down her face, knocking her glasses askew.

“Finally able to talk to my Soul Mate and I made an utter idiot of myself,” she whispered to the high ceiling.

 As the events of the day flashed through her mind, her face heated more and more almost hiding her freckles and she eventually groaned again and threw her arms over her face.

Suddenly her phone vibrated in her pocket, drawing her away from the pit of embarrassment she was spiraling towards.

 Fishing it out proved to be more difficult than expected and it ended with her half sprawled on the floor with her legs still on the leather couch, she answered her phone without glancing away from the ceiling.  
   
“Howdy there, Salem!” an unfamiliar male voice chirped in a rather horrendous fake southern accent and she gritted her teeth.  
   
She knew when she was being mocked.

 Irritation simmered in her and she closed her eyes as her hand curled around her phone.

 “Gee golly mister, it done appears that you may have dialed the wrong cellular device,” she replied, layering her own lightly accented voice with a strong ridiculous southern drawl.

There was a bark of laughter followed by a pleased, “Smart ass,” and another chuckle.  
   
“I’m positive I got the right number,” he said in a regular cheerful voice, “after all you did move into my building,” he said.

It took a moment but his words sank in and she gasped in horror before shooting up from her position in the floor, and she scrambled onto the couch.  
   
“Mr. Stark!” the petite blonde gasped out, she heard an answering hum on the other end.

“Tis the one and only. Listen, kid, I called to tell you that tomorrow morning will be your first day working. It’s late and I don’t want you staying up waiting for dear ol’ me to return,” he said and Salem could only blink in response.

“We can discuss your new job when we meet, any questions?” he asked and she shook herself and quickly replied.

 “N-no, Sir,” she responded and there was a beat of silence before she heard him mutter, “see I already like her. She called me _‘sir’_ ,” he said and she could have sworn she heard an answering sigh from somewhere on his end.  
   
“Good. If you need anything ask JARVIS and he will point you in the right direction. Or just ask one of those mooches there for help,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” she replied with a nod, then stopped when she realized the man couldn’t see her.

“Alright, see you tomorrow, kid,” he said in a pleased tone before the line went dead.  
   
Sterling held her phone to her ear for a minute longer before slumping back against the sofa.  
   
“Maybe I can make a run for it,” she muttered to herself.

“First conversation with the boss and you were mocking him,” she said and pressed her hands against her flaming face while letting her body slide back down to the floor, the wood hard and cold against her back.

Paws clicked against the floor and a soft face bumped against her hands that covered her face, she let them slide away and let her amber eyes drift to her dog.

Remembering his actions towards Barnes, she lightly poked an accusing finger on his nose, “traitor,” she grumbled with a small glare.

 Echo licked her hand and wagged his tail.

Grumbling to herself she eventually dragged herself to her bedroom and was actually surprised when she saw how late it was.

Salem changed into her pajamas consisting of gray sweat pants and a baby blue t-shirt and brushed her teeth, then pulled her short hair into a small braid away from her face which she then washed.

 Leaning against the cold marble in the impressive bathroom she stared at her reflection, watching drops of water run down the slopes of her freckled nose and cheeks.  
   
Amber eyes stared back at her surrounded by wet spiked eyelashes and she blew out a breath.

Her eyes fell to the black words scrawled just under her collar bones that were hidden mostly by her shirt and she raised her hand to run a finger lightly over the name.

“This is more difficult than I thought it would be,” Salem muttered softly.

She made her way to her bed, launched herself on the bouncy mattress, and buried herself up to her chin in the soft white blankets.

The room was silent and dark, Salem could feel the vast emptiness of the room and with a feeling of homesickness she patted the spot next to her.

A second later Echo jumped up and cuddled his way close to her, turning to throw her arm over the broad body of her Pitbull she sighed and patted his flank.  
   
Silence was again pressing around her, but the soft breathing of her pet was relaxing and if she closed her eyes she could imagine that she was back home.

Squeezing her eyes tightly she buried her face in his short soft fur and whispered to herself, “He walked away…again.”


	6. Down the Rabbit Hole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in Bucky's point of view! Oh boy, here is my first attempt at writing through Bucky's eyes. Hopefully I will be getting better as the story progresses! All rights belong to Marvel. I only own my characters and plot

" _All I want, all I've ever wanted, since the bones in me began to grow, is to know love, and for love, too, to know me." –Christopher Poindexter_

* * *

 

' _You walked away again,'_ Bucky thought bitterly, glaring at the plain white wall of his room in Stark's tower.

He sat in the far corner with his back to the wall with one leg stretched out and the other cocked up with his flesh arm resting on his knee.

Bucky was still dressed in the clothes he had on when he left the gym, too caught up in his own head to do anything except hide in his room. His mind was churning and his body would spasm periodically as if trying to move to an unknown destination.

In the dark quiet of his room he could hear the Widow and Steve talking in low tones, he could literally hear their disappointment, and with an irritated growl he let his head thump harshly against the wall.

Closing his eyes the soldier let his mind drift to the woman whose name was scrawled on his lower abdomen. Seeing her again was like a punch to the gut; wind was knocked out of his lungs and his legs went weak.

Bucky seemed to remember before the war that he would dream of his Soul Mate, of what they would look like or act like.

During the war, despite no name etched into his skin, he prayed and dreamt that whoever they were they were safe and far away from the bloody battle that took so many.

Then he was caught and he seemed to stop dreaming altogether.

Scrubbing his flesh hand down his face, Barnes quickly shook away those thoughts.

In their place his mind seized on the petite blonde now living in the tower.

When he first saw her at the Doctor's office while leaving a rather pompous dick sputtering behind him, he didn't know how to react and she had stared at him as if she saw a ghost.

Even without knowing her name he knew that that woman was his.

The crippling panic he felt since entering that small building dissipated as he studied the woman as she stared at him with wide surprised eyes.

Bucky used to think his Soul Mate would be tall and leggy with an hourglass body. How she would have long tumbling dark hair, sultry eyes, and red lips.

Yet now he has to say he was pleased at how different from that adolescent fantasy she looked.

Salem Lydia Sterling was a pale petite woman whose soft voice was tinged with a charming southern drawl.

His body flushed hotly at the memory of her accented voice and her gentle tone.

Her skin was pale and sprinkled with freckles that covered her from her slender hands to her face. White-blonde hair fell in wild curls to her chin and he noticed that she would nervously hook the strands behind her ears.

He imagined if he ran his fingers through her hair it would be the softest thing he ever felt.

Including the ridiculous massive bed that was in the center of his room, courtesy of Stark. Her cheeks were slightly rounded and seemed to be stained permanently with a blush. Black glasses adorned her face and seemed to draw attention to the delicate bone structure. Her chin was pointed stubbornly and her nose was slim, pert and spotted with more freckles.

Bee-stung lips were a soft pink and made for sin, every time white teeth peaked out to nibble on them he nearly fell to his knees.

Blonde brows were rounded and slightly arched, and long thick eyelashes the same shade as her eyebrows surrounded big light amber eyes that were so kind and gentle, but with strength and wisdom lingering just under the surface, that his chest ached.

Her delicate features and petite build coupled with those large innocent eyes seemed to draw out every single protective instinct that he was sure was left in the Alps in '45.

For some reason the feeling brought to mind of Steve before the war, with his small sickly body and big heart with an unquenchable thirst for justice.

Or he assumed that was the memory, his mind was still a mixture of black holes and jagged fragments of a life from so long ago.

The soldier couldn't help but to walk away from the woman, if he didn't he wouldn't be able to stop from falling on her and finding out for himself just how soft her lips were, how smooth her skin was, and map all her freckles with his lips.

He wouldn't be able to stop himself from hoarding her close to protect her from the enemies of the world and from the own darkness he could still feel slithering in his veins.

He shot to his feet and stalked out into the massive living room where he could still hear whispered conversation and when he did find Natasha and Steve he narrowed his blue eyes at them and felt his body tense.

They were hunched over with their head bent together whispering, their words barely echoing in the large room.

When they caught sight of Bucky they immediately stopped, and from the guilty look that flashed across the Captain's face he knew they were talking about him.

' _Those fuckers…,'_ he thought and glared at them, the redhead glared right back.

"She seemed really nice," Steve said after a tense moment to break up the staring match and for a brief second Salem's face flashed before his eyes and the low burning anger he felt melted away.

"Her dog is nice, too," he continued with a small grin. The Sergeant recalled that Rogers always wanted pets, however his numerous allergies forbid him from owning anything besides a rock.

Didn't stop the little bastard from feeding what scraps he could hide away and petting the strays that strolled around Brooklyn.

He had stared Bucky down with puffy watery eyes that burned with defiance when the older man tried to convince him to stop.

Surprised at the sudden memory, the man couldn't help but stare with an amused expression at the blond man, who already seemed to be plotting on snatching the gray dog that had hovered protectively near his Soul Mate.

"Don't be fooled, that adorable creature almost attacked me when I saw her Mark without her permission first," the Widow said and for a brief moment pride flared in the soldier's chest at the animal before her words sank in.

He narrowed his eyes again on the assassin while his mind raced to figure out exactly where her Mark could be.

Even Steve's bright blue eyes widened at the woman's admission.

Natasha just shrugged her shoulders.

"Had to make sure," was all she muttered.

She then rose gracefully from the leather couch and began walking to the door. "You might want to stop avoiding her, it's not good for the bonding process," she said over her shoulder and with that she was gone.

The silence echoed around the large room and Steve stood up to look Bucky in the face.

"She's right, you know," the super soldier said softly. His face earnest and eyes gentle, how the blond man ached for his friend to finally have peace and happiness.

"It's not good to push her away," he continued walking past a thoughtful Bucky.

He left the man to his own thoughts, never a good thing, and the soldier ended up back in his spot on the floor with his head leaned back and eyes closed.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but as he began to drift into unconsciousness, dread began to fill him as he waited for new nighttime horrors to smother him.

Yet all he dreamed was of soft blond hair, light brown eyes, and plump pink lips curled into a kind smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review and tell me what you think!


	7. A Whole New World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so glad all you lovelies enjoy my story! You all just make me day!

“Dear God, she is adorable,” Tony Stark stated while bracing his hands on either side of Salem’s face, squishing her red cheeks and knocking her glasses askew.

Salem was investigating her new workplace, a large exam room with anything she could possible ever need, tiled bathroom attached to the room, and the office across the hall filled with filing cabinets and stacks of files and papers strewn haphazardly in the wide space.

She was already making plans to straighten up the records already on hand and make lists for the ones she didn’t when the infamous Iron Man came striding in with the beautiful Pepper Potts behind him.

“I’m glad you approve, Tony,” the tall willowy woman said dryly and Stark pouted at the woman and squished the blonde’s cheeks together again.

He was dressed in designer jeans and a black long sleeve t-shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows.

White block letters spelled _‘AC/DC’_ across his chest with _‘Back in Black’_ scrawled underneath.

His dark hair was pushed away from his handsome goateed face and his sharp brown eyes studied her closely.

“I bet Barnes is chomping at the bit,” he chirped and Sterling felt her cheeks heat up at his words.

“Tony…,” Ms. Potts warned, glaring at the man until he released Salem’s face with a sigh and took a step back.

Salem straightened her glasses and smoothed out her clothes.

She was dressed in a crisp pale pink collared shirt, a warm beige cardigan and khaki pants paired with brown loafers.

Her platinum hair was pulled into a neat bun, Salem decided to dress professionally for her first day and a part of her hoped that what Stark and Potts saw was worth the trouble of hiring her.

“Mr. Stark, it’s lovely to officially meet you,” she said while sticking out her hand and smiling somewhat nervously at the man.

He stared for a minute before winking at her and shoving his hands in his pockets, the strawberry blonde by his side rolled her eyes and reached over to grasp Salem’s slender fingers.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too. Natasha has told us a lot about you,” she informed happily and Salem stared at the woman with wide amber eyes.

“She did?” she muttered to herself and the CEO smiled brightly at her.

Dressed in black slacks, a lovely emerald green blouse, and with her hair twisted into a neat chignon, she looked like the picture of professionalism.

Her blue eyes sparkled and she glanced at the slender silver watch on her wrist.

“Well, I have to drag Tony to another meeting. We will let you continue settling in, I will talk with you later,” she stated with a smile and Stark groaned before throwing his arm across Salem’s shoulders.

“I want to stay here with Ms. Southern Belle,” he stated and Salem’s freckled cheeks heated up again.

Eventually, and after nearly threatening the Avenger, Pepper dragged Tony away leaving Sterling in the large room by herself.

Salem sighed and scrubbed a hand over her face.

“I guess I’ll get used to that,” she said with a small shake of her head and continued her task of organizing the office.

She was told earlier by Ms. Potts that they didn’t want any of the Avenger’s medical records on the computer, she wanted them all handwritten, and the other members of S.H.I.E.L.D. had to be filed into the Stark Industries database.

So it wasn’t until much later that she realized she worked past her lunch while focusing on the comforting motions of organizing paperwork.

Despite her growling stomach, she could feel herself grin at the work she has done.

There was a large wooden desk and she pushed it in between two massive filing cabinets, a few more lined the other peach colored walls, and the gleaming white tile was now clear of clutter.

She was able to organize them in some sort of order on the desk.

“Almost got it,” she chirped to herself before making her way out to find her some food.

It was thirty minutes later and she was still roaming the halls with her face flaming.

Too embarrassed to stop one of the many Agents milling around to point her in the right direction.

Feeling like a moron she sighed and turned to re-trace her steps only to bump sharply into someone making their stacks of papers flutter to the ground.

“Oh, I am so sorry!” she gasped out, immediately scrambling to pick up the strewn paper.

“It’s quite alright! Should’ve seen where I was going,” a cheerful male voice replied said and she glanced up to apologize again, only to end up staring.

The man was handsome in a boyish sort of way.

With hazel colored eyes and short sandy blond hair that stuck up in every direction, his smile was teasing and teeth bright against his tanned face.

His lean body was clad in a neat black suit with the tie crooked and Salem blushed and quickly handed over the papers, knocking against his hands in the process and making him lose his grip on his stack.

She winced as the paper once again fluttered to the ground and her face burned hotter as she tried to stutter out an apology.

“Hey, it’s okay! No harm no foul,” he said again once his work was collected and they both stood up, with him standing a handful of inches taller than her, and Salem pushed up her glasses and stared at the man with an awkward smile.

“You look a little lost, are you new?” he asked with a grin and the woman ran a hand nervously against her pants, “That obvious?” she said with a sigh and the man chuckled.

“Well judging how this would be the third time passing you, I would say it’s kind of obvious,” he teased and Salem was surprised to find herself smiling at his friendly banter.

“I was actually trying to find somewhere for my lunch break,” she admitted softly and the man nodded in understanding.

“Ah, don’t worry. When I first started it took me a month to not get lost,” he said and the small woman blinked in surprise, “Really?” she asked feeling relieved that she wasn’t the exception.

The blond man nodded matter-of-factly before leaning down to mock whisper at her.

“Truth be told, I still get lost and I’ve been here for three years,” he said and Salem let out a snort of laughter which made him grin broadly at her, his bright eyes sparkling with mirth.

“I, uh, I’m sorry about bumping into you,” she said with a small smile, not able to block the giggle that left her at his pout from her apology.

“Don’t be, you still might be wandering the halls if we didn’t bump into each other,” he said before grinning brightly again when she snorted. She gave him a small wave and began walking away.

She made it a few feet away when she heard him laugh and jog up next to her, shuffling his paper to under his right arm.

“Seeing as how you are going the wrong way again, why don’t I show you? I’m about to go on my break anyways,” he offered and she blushed while nervously chewing her bottom lip, but quickly waved him off, stumbling in her steps as she did.

“You don’t have to,” she began. He rolled his eyes, “I’ll count it as payback for knocking all my hard work on the ground, twice,” he said with a wink and laughed at her flushing face.

“You said it was no big deal,” she accused trying to fight the smile that threatened to curl her plump lips.

“Okay, what about if I told you some more embarrassing stories during my beginning years at Stark Industries?” he asked while nudging her gently with his free hand.

She hesitated for a moment, thinking back to her earlier humiliation since her arrival, at his obvious cheerful personality that was much needed, his infectious smile, and she quickly caved, holding back her smile at his beaming face.

“Name is Castiel, by the way,” he said while offering his hand and the blonde let out a soft laugh at his excited demeanor, “Salem Sterling,” she responded and lightly shook his hand and returned his happy smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Review and tell me what ya think!


	8. Oh My...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-Da!

"No way!" Castiel gasped out and Salem poked her head out from under the desk where she was collecting medical forums that had fallen to the ground.

Castiel was hanging out of the doorway with his mouth gaping open and the small blonde snorted out a laugh at his expression.

After having lunch with the man, which was filled with her fighting back laughter as he recalled rather embarrassing stories, she came to the conclusion that she made a new friend.

As the day came and went she stayed in her new office getting everything ready so she could actually start giving exams as soon as possible, she was surprised to see him strolling into the room with his suit jacket slung over his shoulder and whistling as he took in her large office.

He then plopped himself on her chair and grinned, stating that he would keep her company.

Sure enough he did, never complaining about how late she was staying, and although she tried to tell him to go home, he just shrugged and settled more comfortably in the chair.

He began talking again, falling into easy chatter that he seemed so comfortable with for a while before he poked his head out the hall when footsteps echoed down the deserted halls.

               "Quick! Sing the National Anthem with me!" he whispered to her as he ducked back in the room, his hazel eyes bright and a giddy grin decorating his boyish features.

Salem was about to ask what he was talking about before Captain America appeared tall, broad, and gorgeous in the doorway dressed in plain clothes, with a blond brow quirked up and a smile on his face.

She hurriedly got to her feet, knocking her head against the desk as she stood, and pushed up her glasses while smiling softly in greeting.

Steve Rogers smiled softly at her and nodded in greeting to Castiel who had stars in his eyes, before leaning against the doorframe and looking curiously around the room.

"I heard laughter down here and decided to investigate," he explained and Salem smiled shyly at his words.

"I tried to drag her away, but she almost attacked me," Castiel said solemnly to the tall Avenger and Salem gasped in indignation at his words.

Steve quirked an eyebrow again as his sapphire gaze flicked in her direction and his full lips twitched at the corners.

"Shame on you," he teased lightly which made her face heat up.

Castiel gave her a thumbs up and an exaggerated wink.

"Natasha sent me to find you," he said while rocking back on his heels.

"Salem, you do know your shift is over right?" he asked lightly, eyes twinkling and Sterling's cheeks flushed pink, secretly delighted at his teasing.

Pointedly ignoring her new friend's snicker, she hurriedly finished what she was doing and made a show of getting ready to leave as they walked out of the office.

A small grin blossoming on her face when Steve chuckled.

"Oh, this is my friend Castiel! Castiel this is Steve," Salem said suddenly blushing at her forgotten manners when the man pointedly nudged her with his elbow as he joined them out in the hall.

They shook hands and the woman bit back her snort at the shorter man’s wide eyed look of awe.

"I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow for lunch?” Salem said before smiling when Castiel winked in confirmation before trotting off, grinning ear to ear.

“Glad to see you are settling in,” Cap said when the young man disappeared.

The woman felt herself smile lightly as she waved off her friend.

She mumbled shyly in response and began to walk in the direction that would lead her to her floor.

Her brown loafers clicked softly against the tiled floor as thoughts that plagued her nearly all day came trickling to the forefront of her mind and she sneaked a look up at Rogers's towering frame.

Even dressed in light wash jeans and a simple white t-shirt he was handsome.

His golden blond hair was slightly ruffled and bright against the gray backdrop of the winding halls, his eyes a beautiful shade of blue and shined with knowledge that contradicted his youthful appearance.

His strong jaw was smooth and his broad shoulders rolled with his every step as he strolled beside Salem.

Despite his all-American looks, the dark and solemn face of her Soul Mate flashed through her mind causing the questions that now simmered in her mind to become unbearable to hold in.

Once they were in the elevator and the doors slid shut, Salem couldn’t stand the silence that enveloped them.

“Am I doing something wrong?” she suddenly asked spinning to stare at the Captain with wide amber eyes.

At his startled expression she blushed hotly and spun back around and shoved up her glasses with a now shaky hand.

“N-nevermind, forget I said anything,” she said quickly.

She silently cursed herself for not biting her tongue.

With a small sigh Steve reached over and stopped the ascent of the elevator and turned to face her.

The petite blonde was reluctant to meet his gaze.

Even in the large space, with Rogers’ broad shoulders, muscular build and too sharp gaze, she felt like she was trapped in a shoebox.

“You are doing nothing wrong,” he replied gently and shame burned her in freckled cheeks.

“I-I didn’t mean…I just…,” she stuttered out staring at her slender hands twisting in the soft material of her cardigan, the oppressed feeling she has had since finding her Soul Mate bubbling up till she was staring at the national hero with confused brown eyes.

“He walked away from me twice already,” she said and in the quiet space with just them two and his earnest blue eyes, she let her shoulders slump in defeat.

“I never imagined that this was how it would go…,” she admitted softly hating that she sounded so weak in front of the Avenger.

She looked away as platinum strands of hair that escaped her bun slipped and hid her burning face.

He was quiet for a few seconds before he reached out and gingerly brushed the blonde curls away from her face before resting a large strong hand on her delicate shoulder.

“He’s been waiting on you for a long time, Salem. Don’t doubt that,” he said softly with his sapphire eyes blazing with honestly.

He held her gaze for a while before squeezing her shoulder ever so gently and reached over to restart the elevator.

They rode the rest of the way in silence with her mind reeling and a new soft spot for the man.

Once the doors opened to her floor, however, angry shouts were heard from her room.

There was a split second where both Salem and Steve froze before the soldier darted towards the sound with Salem stumbling after him.

Steve swung her door open to reveal Natasha and Bucky standing toe-to-toe with fierce snarls on their face.

The Black Widow’s lovely face was fierce, bright green eyes blazing, her full lips curled back, her lithe body posed aggressively.

Barnes was scowling darkly at the redhead, dark eyebrows furrowed over cold winter blue eyes, his broad body tensed as if ready for a fight and they were growling at each other in rapid fire Russian.

Once she was spotted however, shocked at seeing them in her room and just about ready to fight, Natasha’s face went creepily blank as she stepped away from the former Sergeant.

Her Soul Mate’s eyes flicked to her before staring back at the redhead and taking a step back as well.

Echo shot up from his position near Barnes and bolted to Salem's side.

The tension in the air was thick and the hairs on the back of Salem’s neck stood on end as her brown eyes shifted between them.

“Everything good?” Steve asked tightly, his big body tense and Salem didn’t miss the way he angled himself to make sure the petite woman was shielded by his body.

"Everything is fine," Natasha replied smoothly and Echo licked Sterling's hand in greeting, oblivious to the suffocating aggression still hanging in the air.

"May I ask what the problem is?" She asked in a gentle tone and she didn't miss the way Natasha and Barnes eyed each other warily.

"Just a misunderstanding, doll. No need to worry yourself," Barnes said stiffly after the silence in the room grew to be too much and it took Salem a few moments to realize that he was talking to her.

Her face flushed brightly at his raspy voice and at the endearment, Steve's eyebrows shot to his hairline and Natasha had a flair of victory in her green eyes.

"O-oh, um, okay," was Salem's intelligent response, at loss for words as bright blue eyes drifted to her.

The young woman fought against the impulse to hide her blushing face behind Steve.

Instead Salem stood gaping at the dark-haired man, face pink and amber eyes wide.

A sharp nip to her hand had her jumping and blinking at Echo who wagged his tail as his steely gray eyes flickered from her to the kitchen where his food bowl was.

The tense atmosphere dissipated, Steve and Natasha's bodies relaxed and they began to discuss something but Salem was too busy staring at Barnes to pay attention.

Dressed in jeans and a maroon colored button up with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, the former Howling Commando looked comfortable and at ease.

Yet she saw how his eyes shifted to every corner and door, how his shoulders were lined with tension and his left arm was shifting almost unnoticeably as he flexed his arms still shoved in his pockets.

His hair was loose and hung around his face and her fingers itched to run through the dark locks, maybe to even trace the curve of his jaw and the light dip of his cleft chin, to feel the scratch of his light beard stubble.

A sharp yip broke her trance, making her jump and glare at her pet.

She sighed at her now displeased animal who huffed in annoyance at her.

"He's been antsy all day, tomorrow Steve should walk him while you're working," Natasha suggested and the blonde noticed Rogers’s eyes light up before glancing at her eagerly.

She nodded in agreement before quietly excusing herself and making her way into the large kitchen with her PitBull trotting at her heels.

She scrubbed a hand over her face, trying to clear her jumbled thoughts and her still pink cheeks.

Shaking herself she began searching for the dog food as Echo sat patiently by his bright silver dish, panting happily with his tongue sticking out.

It took Salem a minute to find the food, a minute more to haul it out of its cupboard and fill up the bowl, and while she was shoving it back in its place someone cleared their throat softly behind her.

She nearly shrieked as she spun around with her hand clasped to her chest, only to stare wide-eyed as Barnes stood stiffly in the kitchen doorway.

Salem tried to steady her racing heart and offered an awkward smile.

She noticed he still stood rigid, but let his eyes roam curiously across her kitchen and the few knickknacks she had.

They stared at each other in silence, the only sound was Echo munching happily on his food, oblivious to his owner having a mental breakdown.

               “Sorry about…that,” he eventually said jutting his chin in the direction of the now quiet living room.

Salem blinked and flapped her hands awkwardly in front of her.

“Oh! Um, no problem,” she said lamely as silence once again stretched between them.

He seemed to debate something, blue eyes shifting all over her face, always coming back to stare her right in the eyes.

Suddenly he stuck out his right hand and Salem blinked owlishly at him before her instinct reaction kicked in.

She reached out and let his large hand enclose around her small one and she suppressed a shiver at the feel of rough callouses against her sensitive palm.

He stared at their hands, face focused as if concentrating on what to say and when he glanced up she gave him another nervous, yet encouraging, smile.

Barnes stared at her intently before she saw his shoulders relax just a fraction.

Salem could feel his fingers brush against her wrist lightly before a sudden and devilishly handsome smirk played at the corners of his full lips.

Salem nearly swooned at the sight.

“Bucky Barnes,” he said and she could just nod dumbly at him.

“It’s a pleasure,” she replied automatically.

He let his eyes roam over her frame, in a slow lingering pace that had her burning hotly.

He flashed her another small smile, a gentle look softening his sharp features, before letting his fingers brush against her hand as he withdrew his own.

With that he retreated, walking out as quickly and quietly as he arrived, leaving her blinking in her quiet kitchen with Echo staring at her with his tail wagging excitedly.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me whatcha think!


	9. A Day at the Office

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are too awesome ^__^

“So far, it is really fun,” Salem said into her phone, letting her small feet rest against her coffee table as she sprawled out on her dark wooden floors.

Enjoying her off day she kept her pajamas on and wandered around her room, letting her fingers trail along the smooth surfaces as she padded around her new home.

She ate cereal as a snack standing up in her kitchen, her toes curling on the cool floor despite wearing socks and sighed, wishing Natasha and Steve would come back from their mission so she wouldn’t feel so alone.

She finally figured out how to use her TV, thanks to JARVIS, and some nature show drifted from her speakers while she wondered around.

She had just laid on the floor to wrestle with Echo when her phone began to ring, and she felt herself grinning widely at her parent’s picture flashing on the screen.

Her mother’s hum brought her back to the present, no doubt not believing her daughter’s words. Echo’s paws clicked against the floor and she felt him lay his head on her stomach.

“No, really! I even have two offices! Well, I have an office and an exam room…but they’re both mine,” she said happily while petting his boxy head.

Her mother grunted and Salem rolled her eyes. “I even met some friends,” she continued while running slender fingers over her pet’s fur.

That got her mom’s attention.

She cooed happily. “Tell me about them!” she chirped and the blonde could just picture her willowy frame cushioned on piles of colorful and mismatched pillows, thin face smudged with paint and split into a wide smile.

Salem stared up at the white arched ceiling and pondered the response to that question.

 _‘Well, there's the master assassin who has taken me under her wing and the Super Soldier who is probably going to steal my dog, Oh and did I mention I also ran into my Soul Mate who is actually alive?’_ Salem sighed and just gave a brief description, her parents already nearly had a heart attack when she told them she was going to work at Stark Industries.

“So when will we be able to visit?” her mom asked after a while, a smile in her voice filled Salem with nostalgia.

Echo licked her hand.

“Hopefully soon,” she replied and her mom hummed again.

They talked for a bit more, about her father’s productive business being a carpenter and her increase in sales of her paintings and sculptures.

The small woman felt a pang in her chest, wishing for a moment that she was with them in their small but cozy home surrounded by the sounds of her parent's off tune singing as her father spun her mom around their small living room and the constant smell of paint and wood varnish.

Fighting back homesickness she cuddled close with Echo when he wiggled his way to her face, nuzzling his nose against her freckled cheeks.

They talked for a bit more before hanging up and she watched the TV while the PitBull next to her gnawed on one of his many toys that Steve bought him.

It's been almost a week since arriving, and after Castiel interrogated her on how she knew Captain America on first name basis, she fell into a comfortable routine.

Waking up early to run downstairs so Echo could use the bathroom, come back to get dressed, leave her pet with a beaming Steve, go to her office and start examining Agents to ease the work from Dr. Helen Cho.

She would then wait till Castiel showed up for their lunch, come back and do more work until he showed back up at the end of the day and drag her from her office to go home.

Once back in her room she would have dinner with either Natasha, Barton, or Sam. Get her pet back, shower, and go to bed.

Sometimes she would be dragged by Hawkeye whenever Natasha was away to the entertainment room where the Avengers were hanging out, she always had to hide her disappointment when she never found Bucky there.

Salem slowly began to realize that the infamous Avengers were just a big rambunctious family.

Thinking back to her own family, being an only child was lonely and coupled her awkward demeanor and bashfulness she never really left her comfort zone.

Her parents never minded though and she spent more nights than she could count snuggled on her mom's small bed while she sang off-tune while painting, usual portraits of her father while he carved dolls for Salem.

The universe had made the perfect pairing when they brought Marian Kole and Simon Sterling together.

Marian Kole was lighthearted and saw the romanticism in sunsets that painted the sky.

Simon Sterling was an awkward man, quiet and shy compared to her mother's easy going nature.

Despite their many years together they still giggled with each other, her mother's eyes shined with warmth when he would present a gift he made her and while she found a home for it on a shelf filled with many other handcrafted gifts, he would stare at her with pure adoration.

Salem's heart would ache fiercely every time after getting her Mark when she would see them so happy together.

Oh, how many times had she begged silently to have someone like that? _'At least a million and three,'_ Salem thought with a sigh.

A sudden pounding on her door had her jumping from her position and glancing at the time on her TV screen, frowning as the blue numbers glowed _‘12:30’_.

The pounding started up again and she scrambled to her feet and stumbled to the door.

It was a serious looking Agent she never saw before and she blushed when she remembered she was wearing gray leggings, fluffy bright blue socks, and a long baggy pink sweatshirt with a cartoon pig decorating the front.

"The team has arrived from their mission" he solemnly and his words made her heart jumped to her throat.

"They are in the infirmary," he stated in a monotone voice and before she knew it she was running down the halls to the infirmary with the Agent squawking in protest behind her.

Her French braid flapped behind her and her glasses almost slipped off her nose, the elevator ride was excruciatingly slow and her heart beat frantically against her ribs as panic slowly crept through her.

Once the elevators stopped she ran again, almost slipping on the slick tile floors, she slide into the large room and the Agent bumped into her as she froze.

Natasha was slumped on Barton, blood and ash smudging her hair and her black leather outfit, her lip was split and she appeared dazed. The pale form of Tony Stark was sprawled on a cot with Thor trying to tug the dented and scratched Iron Man suit from his unconscious form. A tall thin black haired woman in a white lab coat, Dr. Cho, was treating a long bloody gash on Stark’s forehead. Salem's heart dropped to her stomach when she spotted Steve being held up by Bucky, the blond man's eyes were screwed shut as pain etched into his bleak features. His uniform was dirty and stained with mud and blood, a gash covered his cheek and blood dripped from his hair. Her Soul Mate was dressed in thick black tactical gear, his combat boots were caked in mud, and his dark long hair was tangled around his ash streaked face. She rushed over to him and quickly tried to drag them to one of many cots lined against the pale walls.

"What happened?" she gasped out as Bucky followed and laid Rogers on the cot.

That's when she noticed his left arm.

At first her mind didn’t connect what she was seeing, that her eyes were playing tricks on her.

His entire left arm was smooth metal. From his long fingers to his shoulder before disappearing under his uniform, the bright metal was dusted with soot but still glared under the florescent lights.

The arm rippled and flexed, plates shifting under her shocked gaze and she followed the movements up to his shoulder where a red star was emblazed.

It appeared as if someone poured silver paint over his arm it looked so life-like, metal curving and bulging like any arm would do as the muscles would shift.

It seemed proportionate in size and shape to his other muscular arm and blended seamlessly to his broad shoulders and strong build.

 _‘Despite the fact that it is a freakin’ metal arm,’_ Salem thought with just a touch of hysteria.

Steve let out a pained grunt, forcing her to tear her amber eyes from her Soul Mate’s arm and when she looked up at him he was staring at his friend, but she could see his now rigid shoulders and a muscle ticking in his jaw as he ground his teeth together.

Suddenly she remembered that it was extremely rude to stare and that it was probably making him uncomfortable.

Swallowing past the lump in her throat and tearing her eyes away from his arm again, she looked back to his handsome face.

“Are you hurt?” she asked with her heart thumping in her chest and her hands shook as she lightly touched his right forearm, before quickly drawing it back in embarrassment.

“I’m fine,” he said softly and seeing no obvious signs of wounds she let out a relieved sigh and felt her shoulders slump, an older brunette woman dressed in light blue scrubs started checking over Captain America.

“What happened out there?” she asked weakly, watching the woman probe at Steve’s skull. The man winced lightly.

“HYDRA compound decided to blow the whole damn building while we were still in it,” Bucky said simply and Salem ran her wide amber eyes over Barnes’s tall form, double checking for injuries at his words.

For a second she swore he seemed touched by her concern before the look faded back into a mask of neutrality and helped lift Steve up once the nurse was finished with his head.

“I was in my sniper nest covering Steve’s six when the idiot decided to run headlong into the building,” he continued dryly with a faint shine of exasperated fondness in his light blue eyes.

“Anyways, everyone got out. Just a little banged up,” he finished as the gash on Steve’s sculpted cheek was cleaned, the nurse scurried away to work on Natasha and Salem cupped her slender fingers on Rogers face to look him over, bright blue eyes blinked open to squint at her.

“Hey there handsome,” she cooed softly, “You do that again and I will ban you from my dog, alright?” Salem finished gently and received a small smile in response.

She glanced over at Bucky who was watching her carefully and she flushed from his intense stare.

Looking over to see the Doctor now with Natasha as the redhead glared at her probing fingers, Salem turned back and stared up at Bucky.

He cut an intimidating figure in his gear and her cheeks heated suspiciously while she looked him over.

Leather straps crossing over his broad chest, a fingerless glove adorned his metal hand, and an array of arsenal decorating his belt that was clenched on his hips.

He looked every inch a dangerous soldier, alike yet so different than the pictures she grew up with.

“Glad you’re okay,” she muttered, cheeks flushing bright pink before she made her way quickly to a now awake Tony before Bucky could say anything in response.

Iron Man gave her a tired smirk as he finished prying off the last piece of his armor.

“Hey there, Bambi,” he said and her plump lips twitched into a smile at the endearment that he has taken to call her.

“Hey there, yourself,” she replied and looked at his injuries.

“Pep is not going to be happy with me,” he muttered after a moment while Salem helped wipe off his sweat and soot streaked face.

Sterling hummed in agreement as she eyed his lightly singed hair.

“Yeah, but at least you get to fix up your suit,” she said and smiled at the twinkle in his dark brown eyes as he winked at her.

As she spoke with Tony she kept an eye on Steve and Bucky, who eventually hopped up on the cot with the Captain, and breathed a sharp sigh of relief when a nurse looked Barnes over and found nothing but a few small scrapes on the grumbling man.

Her face burned brightly as Tony cocked an eye at her reaction and she cleared her throat awkwardly.

Salem didn’t miss how no one seemed to particularly pay attention to Bucky’s arm and she had to swallow down the hundreds of questions that were ready to shoot off her tongue.

After a while the bustling died down as the Avengers trudged back to their rooms and Salem was eventually left alone to help clean.

She rested on a cot, the one Steve and Bucky occupied, and she stared blearily around the now dim large room.

She stretched and groaned as her back popped and closed her eyes as exhaustion settled in her muscles.

“Average day for the Avengers, I guess,” she muttered to herself in the quiet room before finally getting up to make her way back to her room.

The panic from earlier had worn off and a mix of relief and exhaustion swept through her.

Once back in her room where Echo whined and pawed at her worriedly, she tripped over her feet to her bedroom.

She tugged off her now dirty clothes, toed off her socks, and slipped on an old baggy t-shirt, leaving her hair in its messy state of loose blonde curls escaping from her braid.

Setting her glasses aside she face planted on her mattress and groaned as her aching feet was relieved of pressure.

Despite her tired body her mind still whirled with question about her Soul Mate and she tried to use the information she gathered about him over the years to try and struggle with an answer.

Sighing in defeat as her thoughts grew scrambled she snuggled deeper into her pillow, felt her bed dip as her PitBull jumped up and made himself comfortable beside her, and let herself drift off.

Salem slept fitfully, dreaming of snowy mountains and loud gunfire.

Of speeding trains and deep dark caverns below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	10. Insomnia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Kissy face* You guys are so awesome!

"That is really good," an older woman cooed, causing Salem to jump in surprise. The waitress smiled, her lightly wrinkled oval face open and friendly.

Sitting in a small retro looking diner in the middle of the night Salem was dressed in her gray pajama pants and a simple pale yellow t-shirt, a sketchbook in front of her and a half empty mug of hot chocolate at her elbow with a few pencils placed beside her.

Salem flushed as the old woman continued to stare at the picture with warm hazel eyes that Salem had been working on since she showed up.

Earlier that night when Salem first arrived there was a little girl across the black checkered tile floors nearly swallowed up by the plush red vinyl seat while barely reaching the table as she colored on napkins as the girl's mother flited from customer and kitchen running her fingers through the girl's hair lightly every so often she passed.

The toddler had unruly copper colored curls let loose to her shoulders, a delicately boned face with a bow shaped mouth, a small button nose wrinkled in concentration and bright sapphire blue eyes.

She was dressed in blue overalls with a white undershirt and her little feet had kicked to some unknown beat under the table.

The mother, who had to be at least Salem's age, returned to her place to the little girl before they waved goodbye and left, a small chorus of departing words from the other staff members had the woman smiling.

The mother had the same copper colored hair, but with cornflower blue streaks woven throughout, pulled back into a messy bun with strands escaping to frame her heart shaped face and showcasing her triple pierced ears. Big light gray eyes sparkled even though exhaustion was etched into her pale face, and her pale bow shaped lips seemed to always have a smile.

Her uniform of a black skirt and a white button up with a black apron adorning her slender waist was spotted with stains from the day and her steps had gradually lost their bounce as time went on.

Something about the little family had resonated with something in Salem, either the obvious tired mother who still smiled brightly at her daughter or how they seemed to be in their own small world.

Sketching them seemed the right thing to do even though it was a hobby Sterling hadn't had time for since she started working with her old tyrannical boss, Dr. Keller.

She had almost forgotten how relaxing it could be.

"Thank you, ma'am," Salem said shyly causing the woman to grin at her and pat her arm before wandering back behind the counter to bicker with the cook.

She went back to her sketching, finishing up the picture while it was still fresh in her mind, and she lost herself in the smooth curving lines left by her pencil and the gentle scratch it made on the thick paper.

Pretty soon though she was jolted back to reality by the same woman from earlier setting a fresh cup of hot chocolate beside her and opposite of Salem.

Where Captain America was sitting browsing a menu looking sleep ruffled.

The small blonde blushed and closed her sketch book quickly and offered a nervous smile at the man when he glanced up at her.

"I, uh, didn't see you there," she said and he blinked at her.

"You looked engrossed in your work," he said simply raising a blond eyebrow and she couldn't help the smile that curled her lips at the playful decorating his lovely face.

"I didn't know that you sketched," he continued, his bright blue eyes twinkling as he wandered to her pencils placed next to her.

Salem felt a blush rise in her cheeks even though her mind went back to that little girl.

Steve and the toddler nearly had the exact same shade of blue for their eyes.

Clearing her throat awkwardly she shrugged and tried to shove up her glasses before remembering that she left them on her bedside table back at Stark's Tower.

"Just a little," she admitted and saw Rogers's face light up as his gaze flicked to her book where her pale fingers were griped.

"May I see?" he asked, tilting his head to her hands and Salem couldn't resist the hopeful look he gave her.

She nearly threw the worn book at him before sinking into the creaking leather of the seat, cradling her mug and watched as passing car's headlights briefly illuminated Steve's handsome face, throwing shadows from his sharp jaw and long eyelashes, as he browsed her drawings.

The first one was of Echo, sleeping curled up on her favorite pillow back in her old home in Georgia and Steve made a small cooing noise in the back of his throat that dispelled some of Salem's discomfort.

He flipped past more sketches of her pet, drawings of her hands in different poses, of her feet propped on a coffee stand, and of scenery differing from her home state to the skyline of New York.

He hummed in appreciation at each one as his eyes scanned the pages thoroughly.

He flipped the page and her face heated in mortification as her embarrassingly detailed drawing of her Soul Mate appeared and she shifted in her seat.

She let her eyes glue themselves to the salt and pepper shaker on the somewhat sticky red table until the force of his stare had her glancing up shyly.

His eyes were serious as he stared right into her amber eyes and she let her eyes drop again from the intensity of his gaze.

"It is a really good piece," he said honestly and her face heated more when he flipped the page and saw another picture of Barnes and a smile twitched the corners of his lips.

The small woman fiddled with the collar of her shirt nervously as they both stared at her picture.

She had the vision of him in his uniform stuck in her head since her adventure in the infirmary the other day.

He had looked like a force to be reckoned with, his dark browns furrowed over bright winter blue eyes that sparkled with a challenge as a small frown tilted his pouty lips into a dark scowl. His dark hair framed his face and his whole demeanor seemed primed for a fight.

"I see you like drawing him," Steve said softly, motioning to the picture with a jut of his chin.

The detail was elaborate, the sight of him seemed to be burned into her brain for hours afterwards, from the arch of his eyebrows and the tense posture of his broad shoulders. To the shadow of his jaw from his beard stubble and the wicked curl of his pink lips.

The detail of his left metal arm was something she spent at least two hours on and her fingers itched to trace the actual intricate metal plates.

He flipped through the creamy pages some more, past half-finished drawings of Natasha and Stark and of even Steve himself which he grunted at, a soft smile decorating his features.

When he got to the sketch she did earlier, his whole demeanor shifted.

His muscular body jerked as if sucker punched, his breath stuttered out, and his bright blue eyes were riveted on the picture and widened slightly in surprise.

Immediately her bashfulness evaporated and Salem straightened in her seat, concern marring her delicate features.

"You okay?" she asked and watched as his eyes seemed to soak in every detail of the two girls.

As if he couldn't help himself, one finger traced the curls of the little girl's hair before tracing the loving expression on the woman's face.

His long strong fingers trembled ever so slightly.

"Steve?" Salem asked hesitantly, light brown eyes flicking from his fierce expression to the drawing.

"Do you know them?" she continued softly and at once he snapped the book close and cleared his throat, a pink tint rising high on his cheek bones even as he carefully composed his expression.

"Sorry," he mumbled before snatching up his drink and taking a big gulp.

Sterling winced and eyed the steam curling from his mug. "Um, ouch?" she muttered, trying not to feel hurt that he wouldn't talk to her.

"So how did you know where I was at?" she asked instead, moving her sketch book next to her on the red seat. The Captain shrugged a broad shoulder stiffly.

Her eyebrow arched sharply as she regarded him suspiciously.

"You didn't put a tracking ship in my shoes did you?" the small woman asked and he finally smiled as he chuckled at her words.

"No, it was just a lucky guess," he replied before settling more comfortable in his seat, the bench groaned under his weight but he didn't pay it no mind.

"Can't sleep?" he asked while glancing at her pajamas and Salem felt another blush warm her cheeks before she nodded and looked over at him.

He was wearing black sweatpants and a white muscle shirt that was trying it's hardest not to burst at the seams. His blond hair was ruffled and sticking up on end.

"I'm guessing you couldn't either?" she replied and he smiled tightly in response, something hard flashing across his eyes before he let his gaze fall back to the laminated menu, "Bucky couldn't sleep either..." he said instead eyeing her slyly and she couldn't help swinging her brown eyes around the nearly deserted diner at his words, only spotting the cook, her waitress, and a few late night stragglers.

"He's not here," Steve muttered before taking a smaller sip of his drink, "he isn't sure of his welcome to you," he explained after a moment of silence and Salem gaped at the super soldier in surprise.

"Are you kidding? I've been dying to talk to him since his name appeared on me nearly eight years ago," she gasped out blushing as his eyebrows shot to his hairline at her outburst.

He muttered something to quiet for her to hear and immediately afterwards he blushed a bright scarlet when she tilted her head to the side curiously.

"Uh, nevermind," he muttered awkwardly, ducking behind his mug and Salem frowned but stared out the window she was beside, watching cars pass and every now and then seeing a person hurrying across the dark streets.

They sat in silence for a while longer and eventually the old woman came back and took Steve's order. He ate two large slices of apple pie and ordered one for Salem.

She noticed while regarding him over the rim of her mug that eyes were still hard and distant and shoulders still tense.

"I wanted to be an artist growing up," Salem blurted suddenly, blushing as he glanced up from eyeing the menu. She brushed away a few stray curls from her face.

"My mother paints and my father works as a carpenter. So they were pretty ecstatic that I wanted to follow in their footsteps," she continued shooting a small smile to Steve where he was paying rapt attention.

"I even minored in Fine Arts at college," she said with a grin, remembering how much fun that class was and how happy she had been while losing herself in her projects.

"So how come you didn't stick with it?" he asked curiously and she sighed as she leaned back against the creaking leather, slim fingers tugging at her messy fishtail braid, staring thoughtfully at her sketch book beside her.

"I thought my Soul Mate was dead," she whispered not meeting Steve's eyes as she frowned at her reflection in the dark window.

"I wanted to see how people coped with losing their Soul Mates, or how people acted if they didn't have one" she stated with a tense shrug.

The silence was thick between them and after her admission, Salem's face burned.

After a few more heartbeats, right when she was about to brush off her words, he spoke softly.

"Thank you," he murmured while staring at her with the gentlest expression she could've wept, his long fingers reached out to touch her hand lightly as if sensing her nostalgia.

She hesitated before grasping his large hand in her smaller one. After a moment his grip tightened and he gave her a dazzling smile and she squeezed back with her own smile.

They sat in comfortable silence after that and Salem felt a sense of pride when she noted how less rigid he sat in his chair. Suddenly though, gunfire rang out loudly and the silence was shattered like a fist through glass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! Bucky will show up next chapter! I promise!


	11. A lifeline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For all my lovely readers!

_Salem didn't have time to scream as the glass shattered around them, cold wind and sharp glass whipping across her face._

_Immediately after the first gunshot Steve reached over and shoved her to the floor pushing her under the table as he crouched down in front of her, his face switching from rumpled sleepy Steve to the intimidating Captain America in the span of a heartbeat._

_She heard people scream as more gunfire rang out and Steve gave her a pointed look before disappearing from her sight and she fought back the urge to drag him back to her._

_More windows were shot out and as glass rained down clinking against the table and floor as she sat huddled under the table._

_Panic had her heart thundering in her chest as her body trembled and she watched as feet trampled past her, a man in a wrinkled business suit spotted her and began trying to yank her from her spot._

_His grip bruising and she yelped as a sharp pain sparked in her shoulder when he pulled harder, his eyes were wide and he seemed perfectly fine about throwing her into the line of fire._

_Salem instinctually wrapped her arm around the stand that bolted the table to the floor before the man suddenly went limp and fell to the floor..._

Warm hands cupped Salem's cheeks and she jerked back, blinking rapidly as she looked up.

Tony Stark was crouched down in front of her dressed in dark red silk pajama bottoms and a wrinkled gray cotton shirt. He had on black slippers and his hair was sticking up in odd angles.

"There she is," he said softly as his warm brown eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled.

The cold tile of the bathroom floor was hard underneath her and she realized she was curled into a tight ball.

She had a vague recollection of wandering into the bathroom in the infirmary of the Tower.

"To my defense I did knock," he continued moving his hands from her face to rest them on his thighs with his hands dangling in between his legs.

"I'm pretty sure that Romanoff nearly stabbed me when I volunteered to check on you," he said and his words registered in her fuzzy brain.

Blonde brows furrowed and amber eyes blinked up at him in confusion.

"Check on me?" she whispered, her ears still sensitive from the gunfire.

Tony eyed her worriedly.

"Yeah, you've been in her for almost an hour, Bambi," he whispered back and she let her gaze fall back to her hands as they gripped her forearms.

A hand shaped bruise was darkening above her elbow.

"Let's get you up off the floor. We're getting you some warm clothes, too," he said as she shivered when she pried herself from her protective ball.

"I don't remember sitting..." she mumbled as she was gently pulled to her feet.

Salem's head swam and she stumbled a bit before Tony placed a steadying hand around her shoulders.

"Don't worry about it. I don't remember most of my twenties," he said nonchalantly.

They exited the large bathroom and she was relieved to see the infirmary emptied of the nurses that had swarmed her when she first arrived.

"We had to force Barnes to go get you a change of clothes. He was about ready to kick down the door when you didn't respond to Tasha," Stark said as he set her down on a cot and leaned next to her.

"I didn't hear her..." she whispered leaning into Tony and he awkwardly smoothed her pale hair away from her face.

"Well you did have a pretty rough night," he muttered and Salem squeezed her eyes shut as memories once again assaulted her

_Crimson stained the floor as lifeless eyes peered up at her, she tried to smother her scream behind her hand as tears streamed down her face._

_Her ears rang and the feeling of her heart pounding painfully against her ribs didn't hinder the feel of blood soaking into her clothes from the dead man in front of her._

_His body was turning gray, twitching every other heartbeat or so._

_People were shouting in panic or sobbing from their own hiding place._

_Fear had her body frozen._

_She could see someone slumped over the counter with their arm dangling from the edge as red dripped from their fingertips._

_The man in front of her still had his hand reaching towards her..._

"She keeps fading out, are you sure she isn't hurt," a female spoke and Sterling eyes jerked from the floor to the woman speaking.

Natasha was clad in a matching creamy white silk pajama suit and she kept glancing over a medical file, her bright green eyes flicking over the page as Tony eyed a CAT scan.

Salem jumped when a warm hand hesitantly touched her arm.

The hand jerked away and her wide eyes looked over to see her Soul Mate shifting a bundle of bloodstained clothes, her bloodstained clothes, in his arms, his eyes hard and full lips twisted into a dark scowl.

She didn't even realize she had changed clothes.

Despite Bucky's dark expression, relief filled her and she couldn't stop herself from lunging at him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

The room went silent.

Her arms tightened around him and she buried her face against his shoulder, the warm cotton of his black long sleeve shirt felt lovely against the chill from her face and her body shuddered as she clung to him tightly.

Hesitantly Bucky wrapped his right arm around her and turned his face slightly so he press his cheek against her temple.

"You're alright, doll" he murmured in her ear and she choked on a sob that escaped from her throat.

His warm hand rubbed soothing circles on her side and she let her nails dig into his back, her body shuddering as she tried to stifle sobs.

Mortification filled her, but she couldn't find it in her to care too much as the sight of the dead man reaching for appeared every time she closed her eyes.

Besides, how could she stop when her Soul Mate just hugged her tighter to his hard body?

Salem turned her face from his shoulder so she could take a deep breath of cool air, her face was flushed from crying and she tried to get her lungs to stop taking in shuddering breaths.

"Take your time," he said softly and as if waiting for his approval more tears slide down her cheeks and she hid her face again.

His hand moved to run gently through her hair as his left arm softly wrapped around her waist.

It was a few moments later when her tears finally tapered off and her breathing became more regular.

Salem kept her face hidden in Bucky's shirt and Bucky kept his fingers running through her hair in a smooth motion that had her body going limp against him.

It was then she became aware that they were alone, the only sounds besides their breathing was the soft hum of the fluorescent lights and the warm air blowing in through the vents. Warm socks covered Salem's feet and baggy sweatpants covered her legs and an equally baggy shirt slipped over one shoulder.

She also noticed that she was sitting straddling Bucky's lap and the arm around her waist was unyielding.

The small blonde slowly, reluctantly, sat up to peer blearily around. She could tell by the way Bucky's hand slipped from her hair to rest against her back that he didn't want to let go.

Which was fine since Salem didn't want to either and kept her slender hands fisted in his shirt.

They were alone in the infirmary and glancing down she looked over to find the clothes she had on were definitely not hers.

The bright yellow fuzzy socks on her feet were hers, though.

"Whose clothes am I wearing?" she asked, her voice a little hoarse and she glanced up to see Barnes's pale blue eyes riveted on the skin exposed by her shirt.

His hands slid further down and his fingers tightened ever so slightly on her waist.

The blonde followed his gaze and her cheeks suddenly went very hot.

The simple white shirt slid enough off her shoulder and chest to give him a view of part of his name scrawled under her collarbone.

"Oh," she whispered while continuing to stare at the Mark.

Suddenly metal fingers lifted from her waist to tug her shirt back in place and she couldn't help the shiver that traveled down her spine when she felt the cool smooth metal touch lightly on her Mark as he did so.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly after few heartbeats of silence, his fingers still placed on her collarbone.

Blushing she tried to wiggle off his lap and back to her original spot on the cot, but his arm held her firmly in place and she ended up focusing amber eyes on where her hand was curled in the dark fabric of his shirt.

"Y-yeah, just...uh...a little shaken," she responded quietly.

Salem steeled herself before glancing up at Barnes.

His hair was swept away from his face, bright eyes staring intently at the bruise on her arm that peeked from the shirt's sleeve, and his jaw was clenched tightly.

She noticed a faint tremor in his rigid shoulders.

Taking a deep breath she let the slender fingers of her right hand shyly brush against his smooth cheek and dimly noted that he must have shaved recently.

The moment she touched him his eyes slid shut and his full lips parted slightly, his body sagged and he turned his face until she was cupping his cheek fully.

Dark hair slid over his broad shoulder and brushed against her wrist, so with her other hand she reached up and hesitantly stroked the soft locks from his face.

Bright blue eyes opened and something intense was swirling in the depths of his eyes.

"I'm fine," she said a bit more firmly and he searched her eyes before turning his head to let his lips brush against her palm in a feather light kiss.

The small blonde nearly fainted as her cheeks burned hotly and a small gasp parted her own lips. He glanced up at her through thick dark lashes and pressed his lips more firmly against the sensitive skin of her palm.

She shivered and blinked up at him owlishly, her face hot and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the barest hints of a smirk curling his lips.

He suddenly leaned forward and brushed his lips across her bright pink cheek before resting against her temple, his breaths ruffling her hair and she subconsciously leaned closer to him.

"Sleep in my room tonight," he requested softly and she nodded before her eyes flipped open.

 _'When had I closed them?'_ , and jerked back to stare at him in shock. Realization lightened his confused expression and amusement sparkled in his eyes.

"I just want to keep you close. That's all," he explained and even as her body relaxed slightly she ducked her gaze and cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Y-yeah okay, don't know why I would assume..." she bit her lip sharply to stop her rambling and she glanced up to see mischief coloring his handsome face.

"Well I was hoping we could get to know each other a bit more, but if you want too…," he drawled and in an act of immature panic to stop her imagination from going wild from his smooth voice she slapped her hands over her ears.

Salem felt his hands, one cold and one warm, tug her hands away and she heard the smile in his voice.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist," he said and gave her another lingering kiss on her cheek in apology.

"I think we both won't be able to handle that just yet," he murmured against her ear and laughed when she gasped and scrambled off his lap, feeling utterly scandalized.

"E-excuse me!" she yelped, face turning red and her voice raising a few octaves.

"Let's get you to bed," he said still chuckling while sliding off the cot and Sterling stepped back still unable to look at him.

Calloused fingers bushed her tangled pale hair from her face and she couldn't help glancing up at him.

It seemed like he couldn't stop himself from touching her, and she silently reviled in the feel of his skin brushing against hers.

His expression was soft as he regarded her, but his eyes were hard.

He hooked her curly hair behind her ear and let his fingers brush against her jaw.

"I don't want you hurt. I'm going to make sure that this never happens again," he promised and Salem just nodded at the ferocity etched into his face.

He gave a sharp nod before ushering her to the door with a hand placed lightly on her lower back, and they both fell in step beside each other


	12. Burn the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bucky's POV once again!

_“I loved her not for the way she danced with my angels, but for the way the sound of her name could silence my demons.” –Christopher Poindexter_

* * *

 

  _"_ _That is enough, Barnes"_ Natasha barked sharply in Russian, causing Bucky to blink back to the present.

 In the tower in a room hidden from prying eyes of the public, sequestered far enough away where no one could stumble on, Natasha and Barton had cold masks blanketing their features as they stared at the mess Barnes made.

The redhead was holding his right forearm in a tight grip that didn't match her feminine looks and her bright green eyes bored into the side of his skull.

Bucky glanced down and noticed he was gripping a man in his right hand by the front of a tattered blood spotted shirt and his left hand was still raised in the air covered in blood.

The man was one of the shooters from the diner and he was sobbing, choking on his own blood, the tears barely escaping his swollen shut eyes to track down the bloody and torn flesh of his face.

Bucky realized he was trembling and the Winter Soldier inside him was frothing at the mouth to make the man pay for the words that he had spoken.

  _"We still need to get information from him,"_ she continued in the same sharp tone and language.

The soldier pried his hand loose from the man’s shirt, watching as he crumpled to the cold concrete floor in a sobbing bloody heap.

Bucky took a few steps back and Romanoff slid in front of him commanding his attention away from the man.

 “Clint and I can finish here. Go back to Salem,” she said. At the mention of his Soulmate the barely concealed rage he felt slowly dissipated.

Natasha stared at him with a stern expression even as her stunning green eyes were gentle, and Bucky glanced over to Barton who gave him a clipped nod.

The normally cheerful man looking every inch the deadly assassin he was with his cold expression and cold blue eyes.

After glaring for a few more minutes at the man on the ground he turned sharply on his heel and walked away. _“He does not leave here alive,”_ he bit out harshly in Russian before exiting the room.

Bucky barely registered his journey, his mind to busy going over every second of the man’s confession until his body trembled again and a cold sweat broke out on his skin, but he was dragged out of his head when he entered Steve’s and his apartment in the Tower and realized he was filthy.

 He made a beeline for Steve’s room and then to his large marble bathroom where he quickly flipped on the lights and started the shower.

 He stripped and stepped under the spray without waiting for it to heat up and began to methodically and thoroughly wash himself.

 He did not want frighten Salem any more tonight.

He was momentarily distracted watching pink swirl down the drain as he cleaned the shifting metal plates of his arm before a large man’s blurry figure was spotted through the showers door.

“I assume Natasha forced you to come back?,” a voice said, muffled by the sound of running water and Bucky made sure he was clean before shutting off the water.

He stepped out of the shower and a fluffy towel was thrown at him.

 “Is she still sleeping?” he asked, avoiding Steve’s question as he dried himself off.

His brain was just starting to quiet and he didn’t want sink back into his head with Salem so close.

 “She stirred a bit when you left, but she’s still asleep,” came the response. Barnes felt his shoulders slump and he slowed his harsh movements with the towel.

He glanced over to see Steve shoving his clothes into a bag to be disposed of, not even batting an eye at the bloody material, before handing him fresh clothes.

While Bucky tugged on the gray sweatpants he eyed Steve’s stiff movements. His broad shoulders were rigid, his face was tense, and his blue eyes were hard and cold.

Bucky pulled the long sleeve dark blue shirt over his head while Steve washed his hands.

 “Sam offered to go make sure she was okay while I stayed here with Salem,” the blond muttered after a moment of quiet and Bucky met his friend’s eyes in the wide mirror over the sink.

“She make it home alright?” he asked in genuine concern stilling his movements as he waited his reply, fully ready to march out into the night once more.

 Rogers scrubbed a broad hand down his face.

 “Yeah. They left before the shoot out, but I wanted to be sure,” he responded with a small weary smile.

 Bucky nodded and followed the Captain out of the bathroom and into Bucky’s room only to spot a lump buried under his blankets and a dog sitting protectively at the foot of his bed.

“Salem wanted him close and the damn dog nearly chewed through her door. I’m going to meet up with Sam, if what that man said is true, I want to make patrols just in case,” Steve said quietly and Barnes nodded in thanks before the blond man patted Echo on the head and slipped out.

Bucky watched in faint amusement as the big dog sniffed in his direction suspiciously, gray eyes wary even as his tail thumped against the thick cream colored comforter in greeting.

 “At ease, soldier,” he muttered affectionately with a gentle scratch behind his ears and the animal huffed at him before lowering his head to rest on his paws.

Blinking in bemusement at the lump under his blanket Barnes leaned over the bed to softly tug the material down enough to see the figure.

Bucky’s breath stuttered in his lungs at the sight in front of him.

Salem was curled in a tight ball on her side and her slender hands curled beneath her chin.

Her pale hair was spilled across his plush pillows and his shirt dwarfed her petite form.

Barnes didn’t know what made him bring her his clothes to change into but, something warm filled his chest at the sight of his Soulmate surrounded by his things and his blood boiled at the memory of seeing his name scrawled in jagged black just under the shelf of her collarbones, standing out in stark contrast to her pale freckled skin.

The man rocked back on his heels and eyed the stiff looking chair in the corner of his room that Steve vacated, he was about to go over to sit when Salem made a soft noise drawing his attention back to her.

 Big amber eyes blinked blearily up at him and he was pinned in place by her stare.

 Looking adorably sleep rumpled she snuggled her face into his pillow and blindly patted over the bed until he hesitantly captured her small hand in his flesh hand.

“You ‘kay?” she mumbled softly curling her fingers around his and the soldier squeezed his eyes shut tightly at the question, her sleepy worry and the words spoken by the man earlier swirling around his brain until the air in his lungs turned to fire and his throat constricted around words he tried to say.

A soft tug on his hand had him brokenly humming his response.

“Can you stay? Jus’ till I fall ‘sleep?” she mumbled as her eyelids already began drooping and shockingly his panic melted away at her soft drawl and he found himself nodding frantically.

“I’ll stay as long as you want me too,” he responded and nearly collapsed to his knees from the soft sweet smile that curled her plump lips.

It was when he climbed on the bed beside her that he felt his heart start to quicken.

_‘Am I seriously getting fucking butterflies right now?’_ he thought incredulously.

His brain appeared to stop working when she rolled over and tugged him closer to her making a small huffing noise of displeasure until he was flush against her back and his arm slung over her slender waist and his hand that was still twined with hers rest against her chest.

 Once they stopped shuffling around, she sighed and snuggled deeper into the cradle of his arms running her legs, bare legs he realized and had to force himself not to have an aneurysm as he weakly tried to think where and when she could’ve removed her pants, over his sleepily.

With his heart beating rapidly against his ribs he maneuvered the blanket so it covered them both and he slid his left arm underneath the pillow so the cold metal wouldn’t bother the small blonde who molded herself to his front as she drifted back to sleep.

 For the first time since breaking HYDRA’s conditioning, probably since he enlisted in the army a lifetime ago, Bucky felt utterly comfortable.

 It was an odd feeling.

It was strange having someone pressed so firmly against him and he found himself nuzzling his face into Salem’s soft pale hair.

He took a deep breath of her sweet smelling shampoo and his eyes fluttered shut while he tugged her impossibly closer.

Bucky took the opportunity to run his fingers over hers, feeling her soft warm skin underneath his had his breath coming out a little harsher than normal and he felt utterly intoxicated by the slight pressure of her laying against him. Of his large body covering her much smaller one.

 He could feel the dog on the bed breathing from his position by Salem’s feet, the soothing rhythm relaxing and the feeling and knowledge of his Soulmate curled against him seeped the tension out of his body.

He watched the steady rise and fall of her chest feeling the rhythm against his own body, her eyes darting behind her closed lids while her long lashed brushed against her freckled cheeks and a soft snore escaped her.

The soldier nuzzled her once more and let out a deep breath before a thought equally terrifying and comforting suddenly forced its way to the forefront of his mind.

  _‘I’ll burn the world to the ground if anything happens to her.’_


	13. Dark Seas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You've had the fluff, now it's time for the angst... Nothing to catastrophic, but still be warned!

" _The basis of shame is not some personal mistake of ours, but that this humiliation is seen by everyone." –Milan Kundera_

* * *

 

"I swear, to everything that is holy, if you make the Black Widow upset with me I will revoke my friendship with you," Castiel grumbled under his breath, nervously shifting on his feet while gripping Echo's leash tightly in his hand before huddling into his green jacket.

"You still haven't told me how you seem to personally know all the Avengers," he mused more to himself while running a hand through his hair, making the sandy blond strands stick up in every direction.

"I don't see why Natasha would be upset with you," Salem muttered half-heartedly standing behind yellow police tape, ambler eyes focused on the shambles of the diner she had visited the night before.

When Salem woke up, drenched in sweat and her heart pounding, she was utterly confused.

She was on her couch wrapped in her throw blanket and completely alone save for Echo who had whined pitifully at her feet.

Salem did have fuzzy memories of sleeping next to Bucky in his room and heat climbed high in her cheeks as she got ready for her day, but then as she went about her day she began noticing things.

Everybody was lying to her.

She stopped Tony Stark in the hallway, who was talking animatedly with Dr. Banner, for clarification on some paperwork and that's when she noticed something was off.

As they asked how she was holding up and such she began noticing the almost shallow breathing of Tony and how he kept shuffling his feet.

Dr. Banner had crossed his arms over his chest and fiddled with the collar at his throat of his button down.

Later she ran across Sam Wilson who stared her _directly_ in the eyes the whole time as they spoke, making her guard go up at the simple action.

At that point her stomach was twisted into sickening knots and she wandered around searching for Steve and Bucky but instead ran across Romanoff and Barton.

Natasha and Clint were harder to analyze.

The two Agents seemed relaxed and their outward appearances were neutral.

It was the nagging feeling in her gut that they were also lying to her that had her excusing herself from their conversation to track down her one other friend.

Thankfully, Castiel seemed all too happy to take a half day with her after she confided in him on her suspicions.

They were walking out the large doors of the Stark Tower when Natasha came strolling up to them with a frown on her lovely features, not liking the idea one bit of Salem leaving.

She made Salem promise to keep her phone on her.

' _I may have worked as a pencil pusher at my last job, but I still went to college and earned my degree in psychology. Why are they all lying to me?'_ she thought dimly to herself while watching a bird waddle around on the broken glass that wasn't cleaned up.

Castiel moved to stand next to her, his bright hazel eyes roaming over the diner with a concerned look, and he glanced at the small woman next to him.

"So you really think they would lie to you?" he asked quietly.

Salem patted a stray pale curl away from her face, pushing it back under her dark blue beanie and tucked her hands into the pockets of her cream colored hoodie.

The brisk wind of November stinging her eyes and she turned to look at her friend.

"I know they're lying to me," she admitted softly and Echo nudged her thigh with his snout.

Castiel and Salem wandered around the busy city and he stayed quiet when she would get lost in her head.

A few hours later they were sitting on a park bench, Castiel sipping coffee and Salem hot chocolate, watching Echo run around chasing stray birds and leaves when a question that had been flitting through her head finally became unbearable.

"Tell me about this so-called _'Winter Soldier'_ ," she asked quietly and watched her friend tense slightly beside her.

He was silent for a minute, his boyish face pink from the wind and pensive as he thought, before staring down at his Styrofoam cup with a frown.

"When SHIELD fell, Captain America was fighting the person responsible for the death of Nick Fury and HYDRA's finest assassin, nobody really knows who he is yet but there were rumors going around that he is a legend in the intelligence community known as the _'Winter Soldier'_. He is credited with over two dozen assassinations and we all thought he didn't exist…but suddenly he was fighting Captain America," he said with his brows furrowed and he huddled further into his jacket.

Salem listened in disturbing curiosity and dread filled her stomach.

Her friend fished around in his pocket before pulling out his phone and tapped on it for a few minutes before showing her the screen.

The video was blurry and she was momentarily distracted by the scene of the helicarriers crashing before darting figures caught her attention.

Salem saw Steve dressed in his uniform, one she recognized from old videos shown in her history classes, fighting against a quickly moving mass of black and silver.

It was a man, dressed in black tactical gear and a metal left arm, with shoulder length dark hair and the camera briefly caught a glimpse of bright blue eyes.

"An agent found this afterwards and it went viral on the internet," Castiel said and Salem quickly thrust the phone back in his hand and covered her mouth as bile began to rise in her throat and deep down in her heart she knew who it was.

' _My Soulmate is a HYDRA assassin,'_ Salem thought feeling the strong urge to throw up.

' _I sought comfort from a killer, I cried in a killer's arms. I slept in the same bed as a murderer,'_ at her hysteric thinking she shot up from her spot and quickly darted to the nearest trashcan and heaved up the contents of her stomach.

"Salem! What's wrong?" Castiel yelped as he scrambled to her before being stopped in his tracks by a growling Echo who sprinted to Salem's feet when she stumbled from the bench.

Salem wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and weakly patted her dog reassuringly before backing away from the trash can on weak legs.

"I need to go back now," she whispered hoarsely and the blond man offered no complaint as he walked her home.

The return to the Stark Tower was a blur, her mind was whirling with thoughts that made her sick, and as a worried Castiel walked her to the elevator, the feeling of anger, denial, and betrayal crashed over her like a tidal wave.

Suffocating her and pressing on her chest until she was nearly gasping for air.

Shame burned in her chest at being lied to, by people she was starting to consider friends, and tears stung her eyes.

She had stayed in the Tower for a month and she was finally starting to feel like she was fitting in.

From late night dinners with Natasha and sometimes Clint, working with Sam and listening to his stories from a kid and then later about his time in the military.

Tony would hold her hostage in his massive workshop until the early morning hours, something she dreaded before realizing that the notoriously infamous man had trouble sleeping, and afterwards she offered no complaint.

She would listen in rapt attention as Thor told her about Asgard and of his Soulmate Jane with love clearly shining in his electric blue eyes.

Salem would be woken up at an ungodly hour by a hopeful looking Steve wanting to take her pet out with him on his morning runs, she could never find it in her to be upset about the wakeup call.

She would shyly exchange words with Bucky, whenever they managed to pass in the halls, that always left her blushing all day.

Thinking that they would hide something this important from her stung.

Especially since she felt incredibly alone ever since she left Georgia.

Blinking open her brown eyes she stared at her blurry reflection in the bright metal walls of the elevator and she tugged off her glasses to scrub a cold hand over her face.

Her face was hot under her hands and she shoved her glasses back on with more force than necessary.

A soft dinging echoed throughout the elevator and she walked into her apartment with Echo beside her, the soft click of his paws hitting the hardwood was a comforting sound.

Salem sighed as she looked around her room and rubbed a hand over her stomach.

It felt like her organs were twisting together.

The young woman went through the motions of feeding her dog and brushing the bitter aftertaste from her teeth.

She stripped out of her jacket and beanie before walking back into the elevator, leaving a whining Pitbull behind, and leaned against the wall.

After a quick question to JARVIS the elevator began to move and Salem tried to compose herself.

She smoothed down her thin dark blue colored sweater and dark jeans, pushing up her glasses and pulling her hair away from her face with a hair tie and a quick flick of her wrist.

The doors slid open and the sounds of chatter met her ears, making her palms sweat, and the sickening emotions in her grew at the sound.

She walked out into Steve and Bucky's assigned floor and saw Natasha, Steve, Sam, and her Soulmate sprawled out on the seats talking amidst themselves.

It was Sam who noticed her first.

His dark brown eyes grew wide and panic flew across his face.

"Salem! What happened?" he nearly shouted in concern scrambling from his seat.

All eyes swung to her and she could guess that her pale face, trembling body, and wide brown eyes would cause worry.

They all shot up from their seats and Bucky made a move to rush towards her, his handsome face full of panic and fear, and Salem recoiled making him stop in his tracks.

Her mouth dried and her heart thundered against her ribs as they all looked at her in concern.

"What's wrong, Salem?" Steve asked softly and she noticed his big body was tense next to Barnes's own rigid frame.

As if one quick move would startle her away.

Which wasn't far from the truth.

Salem felt like her body was nearly bursting at the seams ready to unravel at the slightest motion.

" _Please tell me you're not a killer,"_ she managed to choke out, staring at Bucky with wide betrayed eyes.

His body jolted and pain flashed in his bright blue eyes.

"You all lied to me," she continued and immediately Natasha slipped closer to her with a soft expression and Sam stepped forward with his palms out in front of him, "What are-" he started and Salem shot them a glare.

"Don't you dare," she hissed and to her astonishment they immediately stopped moving.

"You don't give me enough credit. You all lied to me and are hiding something from me…d-didn't tell me that the _Winter Soldier_ was my…my…" she said and felt burning pin pricks in her eyes.

Sam closed his eyes and shook his head and shame flashed through Steve's eyes while Natasha quickly composed her face.

"Salem, you have to understand-" Barnes murmured with his eyes shifting between pain and yearning and a laugh tinged with hysteria escaped Salem's throat.

She hooked her arms around her middle feeling like she was going to cry and faint all at the same time.

"Was it HYDRA who shot up the diner? Did they want you back?" she asked with tears filling her eyes and Bucky took a step forward making her stumble backwards.

"You know me better than that," he murmured in a strained voice and Salem's laugh ended in a cut off sob.

" _I have no idea who you are,"_ she nearly wailed, feeling like her heart was shattering in her chest.

"I don't know any of you! I don't know if you've only told me lies or half-truths, but I will not be treated like a little naïve kid," she said bitterly pinning each of them with a glare.

They stood in surprised silence.

"Let me talk to her alone," Bucky eventually muttered to the Avengers behind him.

Salem refused to look at them as they walked past her.

She jerked away when Natasha reached out to touch her arm and Steve hesitated beside her before joining the others in the elevator.

A moment later the blonde was alone with Bucky and he dragged his flesh hand through his hair.

"Natasha was right…should've told her sooner," he mumbled to himself and the memory of Natasha and Bucky standing toe-to-toe in her living room growling at each other in rapid Russian came to mind.

"I was going to tell you sooner, but I didn't want to scare you away," he eventually said, crossing his arms over his broad chest and long fingers tugged on his black long sleeve shirt.

A weary smile curled his plump lips.

"Too late for that," Salem replied softly and had to glance away at his devastated expression.

"I never meant to frighten you and I swear that I would never hurt you," he said earnestly, shifting on his feet like he had barely stopped himself from walking to her.

Tears burned in Salem's eyes and she squeezed her arms tighter around her middle.

"I'll tell you what you want to know, just…sit down?" he asked and after a few minutes of her studying him she gave a clipped nod.

The breath he released was like someone poking a hole in a balloon.

He went back to his original spot on the dark leather couch, still looking intimidating dressed in a black long sleeve shirt and black cargo pants with dark leather combat boots, and Salem sat on the seat furthest from him while ignoring his crestfallen face.

The silence between them was tense and suffocating, Bucky ran a hand over his face, before he took a deep steadying breath.

"I'm so sorry," he said and Salem stayed quiet not trusting her voice and he cleared his throat.

"When I fell in '45 everyone believed I was dead…hell, I wasn't supposed to survive. A few years' prior my unit was captured and there I was experimented on," he began after a few heartbeats of silence and Salem felt her brows furrow at the new twist to the story she learned from when she was younger.

"The scientists, Armin and Zola, gave me their version of the serum and that saved me from the fall…even though I had my arm nearly ripped off. After I fell some soldiers found me and took me back to Zola where they finished amputating my arm," he said with his own dark brows beginning to furrow and he flexed the fingers on his left hand.

The soft whirring sound filled the air and Salem watched the light reflect off the metal.

"I don't remember much, memories and dreams of what happened come and go and it's hard…it's hard for me to tell what's real and what's not. They brainwashed and tortured me until I was docile and then the training began," he continued.

"I remember the training and experiments vividly…" he trailed off and his eyes grew distant as he stared at his still flexing fingers.

"I know I helped train people and I remember training Natasha, Natalia she went by back then, and I remember them putting me in cryogenic sleep until I was needed and forcing me into the chair to keep my head scrambled and me compliant."

He took a deep breath while the young woman sat with wide eyes not even daring to breathe.

Things were sliding into place and Salem's brain churned with the new information.

Some of his odd mannerisms she noticed began making more sense, from the way he seemed to case out the room whenever he walked into one and the way he always seemed to be prepared for an attack.

A humorless smile twisted his lips.

"Sometimes I would fight back, but as time passed I became the perfect weapon," he sneered and Salem's heart broke at his bleak expression.

"I remember every target…every kill. Those memories are too clear and sharp. I know how to disassemble and assemble, sight, and clean thousands of weapons of all sorts. I can plant bombs disable any car at any time, in motion or not, and I can slit the throat of a sleeping person without disturbing the other person in the bed. And leave no trace at all," he said with that same cold smile.

A sharp spike of fear shot into her heart before fading at the absolutely disgusted look he gave his hands before curling them into fists. Salem swallowed thickly.

"I worked…trained…with the KGB and they gave me the name of _'Winter Soldier'_ and then I was used by HYDRA as their weapon to anybody who threatened their work and I did my job perfectly. Until a man, a Hydra member acting from SHIELD, the Secretary of Defense Alexander Pierce sent me after Director Nick Fury and then later Steve and Natasha," he explained.

As Barnes spoke Salem felt the betrayal morph into devastation as she listened to his story and she forced herself to remain seated even as she wanted to throw herself at him in comfort.

"Somehow Steve helped to begin the breaking down of my programing and I still nearly killed him," he muttered with a frown.

"Afterwards I escaped HYDRA and began to piece together what remained of my life while burning down every HYDRA base I could remember."

The silence between them was thick, Bucky still had a faraway look in his eyes and Salem discreetly mopped her wet face with her sleeves.

"I have done a lot of bad things, Salem, but I am trying to make amends," he murmured to her even as he kept his eyes on his hands.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner…I didn't want you to think less of me," he admitted with his voice cracking with emotion and Salem tucked a stray curl behind her ear as she thought over the new information he just told her, trying to keep a level head as volatile emotions thrummed through her on his behalf at the horrible way he was treated.

"So, what, they wanted you back and decided to go after Steve?" she eventually asked trying to piece everything together.

The look the flashed across his face had her glaring at him.

"The truth, Barnes," she snapped and he sighed in defeat before shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"They were sent by HYDRA, but their goal wasn't to kill Steve," he bit out almost like it pained him to say the words.

"Then what happened?" she questioned before going cold at the look in his eyes.

Her heart dropped to her stomach and a cold sweat broke out on her palms.

"Their mission wasn't to kill Steve. Their mission was to _take you_."

 

 

* * *

Feel free to yell at me on [tumblr!](http://this-red-in-my-ledger.tumblr.com/)


	14. Force to be Reckoned With

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the wait! I was swamped with life and personal issues which made my brain refuse to work. To put all you lovely people at ease I want to inform you that I have NO intention to abandon this story :) Thank you all for reading and leaving reviews!

" _There's so much more to you than you know. Not just pain and anger. There's good too. I feel it."_

* * *

"You do know you are stress baking, right?" Natasha asked in bemusement as Salem fluttered around the large kitchen.

Salem stopped her movements of piling freshly baked cookies on a plate to glance over her shoulder and saw the redhead perched at the island table in the middle of the kitchen, with Echo slumbering at her feet, munching on a pilfered brownie.

The Agent was dressed in loose gray sweatpants, a pastel pink camisole, and her auburn hair was pulled into a neat French braid.

"I am not stress baking," the blond muttered as she tried to make room for the new plate of cookies on the countertops that was covered in different sorts of cookies, brownies, and pastries.

Staring at the clutter, with Natasha looking at her with a raised eyebrow, Salem sighed and cradled the cookies to her chest as if to protect them from her troubled mind.

"Okay, maybe I am" she admitted and her friend hummed in agreement.

She jumped down from her seat and walked over to the small blond and gently pried the treats from her hands before leaning a flared hip against the stainless steel refrigerator.

Despite Salem being upset with Natasha for not telling her the truth about the incident at the diner, the slender woman found herself not being able to stay mad at the woman.

Barton had visited her late one evening begging Salem to talk to the melancholy assassin.

Salem hated to admit that when she found Natasha, curled on the couch with red-rimmed eyes and dismantling a gun with more force than strictly necessary, she immediately knew that she would forgive the Agent.

Salem would admit, however, that she felt a lot better with her friend back to keep her company.

In return for her forgiveness, Natasha vowed to always be honest with her, and Salem couldn't help but to smile at the sincerity in her glittering bright green eyes.

Natasha seemed to need Salem's friendship just as much Salem needed hers.

It warmed her heart to be able to call the infamous Black Widow her best friend.

"Want to tell me what's going on in that overanalyzing head of yours?" she urged with a small smile, and Salem momentarily regretted inviting her to hang out with her when she couldn't sleep.

Dressed in pajamas consisting of powder blue sweatpants and a simple white t-shirt, the young woman chose to stay up all night baking, she eventually gave her friend a very short version of what happened with her Soulmate, and Romanoff nodded along as if she knew the whole story already.

It figured the woman wouldn't let her mope around for long.

"Nothing is wrong," Salem stated, and avoided her friend's unimpressed face by ducking her head so her pale hair would shield her face, and stared at her royal blue painted toenails, but the force of her stare had her shoulders slumping in defeat only after a few heartbeats of silence.

As if sensing her defeat Natasha gently led her over to the island she was just sitting at and waited for her to talk.

Fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, Salem searched for words.

"I don't know what to do," she eventually muttered and as Natasha waved her on to continue the slender woman quickly stood to pace around her kitchen.

"Bucky! He told me about his past and I had no idea what to say to him," she explained, indicating to the night a few days ago when she learned the truth about Sergeant Barnes, and pushed her glasses back into place.

She roughly smoothed a hand over her hair, that was left down, in a fit of agitation.

"I feel absolutely horrible for not saying anything after he basically laid his scars out for me to see, I should be able to say something," she continued while growing even more upset.

"So because you didn't say anything to him you are stressing out?" Natasha asked while popping another brownie in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully as she listened.

Salem made a noise, something between a sigh, a whine, and a groan, before crossing her arms over her chest as her amber eyes dropped to stare at her bare feet once more.

"I'm his Soulmate, Nat. I should be able to offer some sort of comfort instead of running away with my tail between my legs," Salem whispered.

Suddenly her friend stood and gently rested her hands over Salem's slender shoulders.

"Just because you are Soulmates doesn't mean that you can magically make all his troubles disappear," she said softly and Salem sighed and wrapped her own arms around her friend's waist in a much needed hug.

The redhead seemed momentarily surprised before gingerly returning the hug and unexpected tears stung the young woman's eyes.

"I don't know if I can help him," she whispered brokenly, finally voicing her darkest doubt, and she buried her face on Natasha's shoulder as she fought back tears.

The two women were quiet, the only sounds were the radio used for background noise, and the small huffing noise of her pet Pitbull.

"I think you might surprise yourself," Romanoff said as she pulled away and smiled at the small woman with twinkling green eyes.

Steeling her nerves, Salem felt determination fill her as well as a sense of purpose.

"Then I have to go talk to someone," she stated firmly before spinning on her heel and marching to the elevator.

Salem quickly backtracked and slipped on her gray suede house slippers, leaving Natasha grinning as she picked through the sweets Salem baked, with Echo laying back down in his previous position.

It was only when she was in the elevator, the bright lights making her squint and cool air making her shiver, that she remembered it was nearly three o'clock in the morning.

Feeling heat rise in her cheeks at her brash behavior she was about to abort the ascent and head back when the doors slid open to Steve and Bucky's floor.

Salem stood in silence in the bright steel elevator as she debated, in growing panic, what to do before she heard a voice call out from the living room.

Swallowing thickly, she quietly crept towards the voice and was surprised to see Steve dressed in gray sweats and a blue t-shirt with damp hair sitting on the wide black leather couch sketching while Bucky sharpened and polished wicked looking daggers.

They both stopped and stared at her when she poked her head around the corner.

"Salem?" Bucky asked in surprise as he blinked at her and Steve furrowed his brows in confusion as they both sat up in their seats.

"Uh, h-hi," she stuttered out softly and cleared her throat while shifting on her feet.

"May I?" she asked jutting her chin towards them in permission to enter the room, feeling increasingly awkward since the last time she spoke to them she was near shouting in anger and teary-eyed.

The soldiers quickly snapped out of their surprise and motioned her in and her cheeks heated as she hesitantly made her way into the large open space of their modern styled living room.

She was momentarily distracted by the floor to ceiling window that showed the twinkling city lights in the moonless night sky.

Realizing exactly how high they were up she immediately became nauseous.

Tearing her gaze away from the beautiful, yet daunting view, she saw Bucky reach out to a slender remote and with a click of a button the window darkened until it resembled the other three walls.

She was blinking in amazement before someone cleared their throat to get her attention.

"Is there something wrong?" Steve asked with a frown and Salem blushed again before nervously tucking a pale curl behind her ear and took a deep breath.

"N-no, I came to talk," she muttered and Bucky placed his dagger on the simple coffee table in front of him and looked ready to leave the room.

"To you…I, uh, came to talk to you," she hurriedly continued to Barnes.

A feeling of guilt bubbled in her chest at his shocked expression.

Both men shot each other a look and when the silence dragged on Salem twined her fingers together in front of her stomach that was busy twisting into knots.

"I can come back at a later time," she offered quietly while taking a step back.

Barnes nearly tripped over himself when he took a few steps closer with a look of panic flashing across his features.

"It's fine, this time is just fine," he said in a rush and Salem nodded and Steve looked over them both curiously.

"I'll give you two some privacy," he offered while standing up and snapping his sketch book closed, not before Salem spotted a drawing of a familiar looking slender woman with a small toddler on her hip pointing at a duck waddling to a lake, and disappeared somewhere in the back.

Bucky began cleaning up his pile of knives and polishing cloths and Salem couldn't seem to tear her gaze away from him.

He was clad in black track pants that hugged his thighs, a snug gray long sleeve Henley made out of soft worn cotton with the sleeves pushed to his elbows.

His thick dark hair swayed against broad shoulders as he moved and his bright pale blue eyes were locked on his hands, she spotted a silver chain peeking out from the collar of his shirt and she was momentarily transfixed by the contrast of smooth tan skin and silver metal.

She fought back the sudden urge to walk over and sweep his hair away from his face as he ducked his head.

Salem swallowed past the lump in her throat when he finally turned back to her.

"You want to sit?" he asked quietly and Salem shook her head, feeling too antsy to sit, and he crossed his arms over the muscular expanse of his chest making the shirt tighten over the thick muscles in his arms.

They both stood there staring at each other for a few heartbeats until Salem couldn't bare his intense gaze and she lowered her light brown eyes to her hands which were twisting nervously together.

The silence was heavy as she tried to think of how to form her words as all earlier determination faded away.

"Will you say something, doll?" Bucky muttered after what seemed like hours of silence.

Salem cleared her throat as her thoughts alternated between chaos and utter silence.

Images flickered through her mind, of vicious experiments and cruel tortures, and at the center was Bucky Barnes with a blank cold face.

His words from that night had haunted her relentlessly and it painted terrible pictures of gruesome murders and pain.

Yet the memory of her Soulmate cradling her to his chest while she sobbed and the absolute sincerity in his eyes when he swore she would never be hurt again pushed the darker thoughts away.

She thought of his small smiles that she has seen him wear and how he touched her with feather-light hands as if afraid to bruise her.

Salem also couldn't help but to remember the disgust and self-hatred that was etched into face as he talked to his past, of what he done, and that was the image that plagued her most.

Pushing her glasses higher on her nose and she looked over at Bucky.

Her heart broke at his expression.

His pale eyes were filled with concern and worry, his handsome face lined with anxiety, and his large body was rigid.

She took a few steps closer until he was within arm's length and looked at him with her head still spinning and heart beginning to gather speed in her chest.

She gave him a small and reassuring soft smile.

"It wasn't your fault, Bucky" she said softly and would have laughed at his stunned expression if it wasn't such a serious topic.

"You had no control over what you were doing. It wasn't your fault, not one bit," she continued.

Barnes stared at her for a long time before glancing away, expression more tortured than she could bare to see on her Soulmate.

"I could've refused…could've done something instead of following orders like a dog," he sneered after a long stretch of silence, the harsh tone more pointed to himself than Salem, and the young blond gritted her teeth at his words.

Her heart hurt for her soldier, and in a rush of determination and stubbornness, she marched over to him and cupped the sides of his face with trembling hands while finally giving into the temptation of smoothing his hair from his face.

The slightly wavy dark brown locks were thick and soft, contradicting his sharp eyes and the fierce frown he normally wore.

His eyes fluttered shut instantly as if the feeling of her skin on his was too much to process.

Her pale slender fingers smoothed across his beard stubble and she let her fingers trace the arch of his cheekbones.

Goosebumps exploded across her skin as his body heat wrapped around her and the scent of gunpowder, mint, and fresh laundry filled her nose.

His breath brushed against her pink cheeks and she tried to compose herself before she let her hand slide to his broad shoulders, the left more unforgiving than the right, making his eyes snap open to look at her.

She then stood on her tiptoes to get them on the same level, even though she only reached his shoulders in the position, and stared him in his eyes.

"They would have killed you," she stated, feeling her rapidly beating heart skip a beat as the words left her mouth, but her words didn't seem to faze him.

"At least I wouldn't have had to hurt people anymore," he admitted softly and her blood went cold at the truth in his eyes.

Suddenly burning anger and fear erupted inside her and her bashfulness evaporated.

"If you ever say that again, _think_ , that again I _swear_ to everything that is Holy you will _not_ like the outcome," she hissed while curling her nails into his shirt and shaking him.

He barely moved, but the action made her feel a little better.

" _It was not your fault,"_ Salem stressed each word in a tone that could end any argument.

"Evil people made you do evil things and they all should rot for what they did to you. You did the only thing you could do, you survived! And I don't care if every single person I know tries to say otherwise, to me you are innocent! _Because you are innocent_ ," she continued with as much honesty and passion she could muster.

She couldn't bare thinking of Bucky feeling that way, it clawed at her heart, and she hoped that he would see and hear the truth in her words.

"You actually believe that?" he asked roughly and Salem nodded frantically.

"With every fiber of my being," she responded genuinely while staring at him with beseeching bright amber eyes.

Without a warning, not even a shift in his expression, Bucky surged forward and pressed his mouth firmly against hers.

Shock had her jerking their mouths apart with her small hands braced on his chest to put some distance between them.

His hands, one hot and one cool, slid into her hair and he tugged her against him as he once more slotted their lips together.

Once the initial shock wore off Salem soon felt her eyes flutter shut at the feel of his soft full lips pressed against hers, of his hair drifting forward and brushing against her freckled cheeks, to his rough stubble rubbing against her chin as he pressed closer.

She sighed at the pleasant feelings and her Soulmate chose that moment to deepen the kiss. His lips were soft, his mouth warm wet silk, and his kisses were hot and languid.

His hands tangled softly in her pale blond hair and at the first brush of his tongue she jerked back slightly, but he chased after her lips and resumed their kiss.

Heat soared through her veins as he pressed her flush to him, the feel of his hard body against hers had her shivering, and she twisted her hands, still curled against his shoulders, in his soft shirt to anchor herself against the powerful rush of heat that swept through her like a blazing fire.

Bucky let out a small groan as he licked into her mouth, claiming every inch of her, before letting his tongue roll against hers until she shyly began to mimic him.

He growled, nipped at her lips, and she melted against him.

Salem's heart thundered in her chest as blood rushed in her ears in a dull roar and her skin burned hot when she felt a warm rough hand cup her jaw and angle her face to deepen the kiss.

She couldn't stop the moan that bubbled from her throat as her senses became over run by the scent, smell, feel, and taste of her Soulmate.

With a final nip at her lower lip, he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers, and Salem panted lightly while her head swam.

He nudged her nose with his and she slowly blinked her eyes open to look up at him.

Bucky's eyes glowed with warmth and the gentle way he looked at her stole any air she managed to drag into her lungs.

He kept his flesh hand against her back and he lazily traced the dip in her spine with gentle fingertips.

His metal hand hesitantly lowered from her hair, one finger brushing against her cheek and she closed her eyes and lightly nuzzled her burning skin against the cold metal.

He let the metal digits map the freckles on her cheeks and followed the curve of her jaw before tracing the seam of her kiss-swollen lips.

"You are so lovely," he murmured softly, as if he spoke any louder it would shatter the peaceful tender moment they had created, and she couldn't help the bashful smile that curled her still tingling lips.

She looked over his face, bright warm eyes and handsome face soft, and felt her chest warm at the smile that twitched at the corners of his full red lips and he brushed his knuckles across her cheekbones.

"I think I'm falling for you, Salem," he whispered before leaning down to kiss her once more.

 


	15. Movie Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bucky's POV! Who else is emotionally unprepared for Civil War?

Bucky Barnes was on a mission.

Well, a self-appointed mission. He was leaving for an actual legitimate mission the next day.

Marching down the long winding brightly lit halls of the Stark Tower, the soldier was filled with purpose.

His combat boots were silent as he walked and, coupled with black cargo pants and a black long sleeve under armor shirt, he resembled a dark cloud floating over bright white tiles.

Not to mention the permanent dark scowl that peered out from the loose dark curtain of hair that framed his face or the fact that he was dripping with concealed weapons.

He glared at the agents who scurried past him, ignoring the whispers behind him as he past, and made his way to the last door of the long hall.

He peaked around the open door quietly, making sure not to startle the person in the room, and the man felt his rigid muscles loosen as he leaned against the door frame.

Dressed in black slacks that flared around her gray suede flats, and a crisp white short sleeve collared shirt under a dark gray short sleeve sweater, Salem looked every bit professional.

Especially with her large black framed glasses perched on her nose and with small pearl studs placed on her earlobes.

She had a phone squished between her shoulder and her ear as she thumbed through a large filing cabinet with a small furrow between her blonde brows.

Strands of white blonde hair framed her face in wild curls that escaped the short stubby ponytail she wore.

Bucky's fingers twitched as if wanting to run through her hair like he's been constantly doing since their first kiss nearly a week ago.

"I'm not seeing the file. Are you sure I have it?" she asked while flicking through thick folders and a small frown curled her plump lips.

Barnes tapped his metal fingers against the door lightly to get her attention and when she glanced over at him he felt the air leave his lungs.

A sudden warm happy smile brightened her freckled features and her big bright amber eyes sparkled as she waved him in.

"I'll be just a moment," she whispered to him, motioning him to sit, before turning back to the files with her smile still in place.

Smiling softly, Bucky slowly walked into her office and looked around the spacious room that still smelled faintly of fresh paint. The room was painted a deep calming royal blue with white trim and behind her large wooden desk was a large painting of a small running waterfall filling into a small lake in the middle of a forest.

The trees were a vivid mixture of bright reds, yellows, greens, and browns that were captured as they swayed in a breeze.

Barnes was shocked when he first saw the painting, even more so when Salem shyly admitted that she was the one who painted it, and the soldier was still struck by the detail of the painting.

The image so vivid and precise he could imagine that if he sat quiet enough he would be able to hear the water flowing and the leaves whistling while birds sang in the treetops.

Bucky sat in one of the soft cushioned chairs that was in front her desk and let his bright blue eyes roam once more around the spacious room before falling back to his Soulmate as she opened another filing cabinet beside the first.

She apparently found what she was looking for, judging from the relief shining in her brown eyes, and she quickly grabbed a thick folder and brought it to her desk where she sat down.

Salem grabbed a bright pink sticky note and a pen while slender fingers flew across her laptop.

Her amber eyes darting behind her glasses as she nodded to whatever was being said in her ear. She flashed Bucky an apologetic smile when she caught him watching her and he winked at her in response.

Salem's cheeks flushed pink and, when he continued to stare at her, the blush spread to the tips of her ears.

Her shoulders drew up near her ears as if she was trying to appear smaller than she already was.

It was a habit she had, he had noticed, whenever she was embarrassed by something.

She's been doing it a lot this past weeks while Bucky had been trying to learn everything about his Soulmate.

Salem had done it when he managed to pry out her favorite genre of books, which happened to be steamy romance novels, again when she told him that she hated the bitter taste of coffee, she preferred hot chocolate, then once more when she shyly informed him that she often sketched him when she had the free time.

Barnes was oddly pleased by that fact, but she refused to show him the pictures.

Bucky had soaked up the information she gave him, listening to every single word and watching her face when it glowed with her happiness, and whenever nightmare would plague him he would go through the mental list she had told him until he would slowly relax.

His recent dreams though, would be filled with distant memories of a life and people he didn't know.

The most recent was of him looking through a chain link fence into a concrete three wall cell with a tiny dark furred puppy Pitbull trying its hardest to paw through the fence door to meet the small pale hands that petted him lovingly through the gaps.

Bucky let his eyes roam over his Soulmate once more as she made a small displeased noise into her phone.

White teeth poked out to nibble on already bitten red lips, her golden eyelashes swept across her cheeks when she glanced at the folder on her desk, and slender pale fingers he knew where soft and smooth typed rapidly on her keyboard.

"I can see him the first week of December, so if you could let him know of his appointment I would be so very thankful. Okay, thank you," she chirped in her charming southern drawl while scribbling something on her pink notepad and sticking it on the folder before hanging up the phone.

Now that she was unoccupied, he stood up from his chair and slowly walked around her desk.

Salem watched him curiously, a small frown beginning to mar her features at the intense look he was no doubt giving her, and Bucky felt his heart squeeze in his chest when she blinked up at him with her doe like eyes.

He gently cupped her face with his right hand before leaning down to brush his lips against hers softly.

Her lips parted on a small gasp beneath his own and he didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss with a small sigh of his own.

Bucky slid his right hand into her soft hair to cradle her closer to him and Salem melted against him with a soft noise as he momentarily lost himself in the sensation of the sweet taste of her lips coupled with the wet heat of her mouth.

He flicked his tongue against hers playfully before reluctantly pulling back, lingering before nipping softly at her petal soft lips, and Salem slowly blinked open her eyes.

Bright pink suddenly bloomed across her freckled face and Barnes grinned before running his fingertips across her cheek.

"You do know that you were supposed to be off work an hour ago, right?" he asked softly and she blinked at him hazily before frowning and turning to glance at the clock on her computer screen.

"Oh my, I didn't even realize what time it was! Did Natasha send you up here? She usually sends someone up here," she rambled as she spun around in her chair to quickly log off her computer.

Chuckling at her behavior, the former Sergeant leaned his hip against her desk with his arms across his chest.

"I beat her to it, surprisingly since it's _'Mandatory Team Movie Night,'_ " he responded as Salem grinned at his words while finishing getting her things in order.

Barnes watched as she stacked thick files neatly on her desk before they both made their way out with Salem flicking off the lights and locking the door behind her.

The sounds of their footsteps echoed across the white tile as they walked to the elevator and Bucky resisted the impulse to drag her to his side when she glanced up at him with a bright smile.

Salem hesitated when the elevator doors slid open, hooking a pale curl behind her ear nervously, and Bucky immediately turned to face her.

"I was thinking…," she began before stopping and the pink in her cheeks spread to the tip of her ears and further down her face.

"Yes?" he asked softly, tilting his head slightly to the side curiously, trailing the path of her blush with his eyes, as she fidgeted with the hem of her sweater.

Seeming to gather her courage with a deep breath Salem pushed her glasses higher on her nose and offered him an awkward smile.

"I-I was thinking that since you're leaving for your mission tomorrow and I will be leaving as well to visit my parents for Thanksgiving…well I, uh, was wondering if you just wanted to watch movies in my place…just us two?" she eventually squeaked out before clamping her bottom lip between her teeth as if to physically stop herself from nervously rambling.

A habit he found endearing.

Bucky felt his eyes widen slightly in surprise at her suggestion.

Since their relationship moved forward, they both have been trying to spend as much time together to learn more about each other, but they never really spent time together _alone_.

Thanks to an insomniac genius that was beyond nosey, a lonely blonde super soldier, and a certain redheaded spy that often protectively shadowed the petite blonde.

It didn't take long for a slow smirk to begin to curl his lips and Salem's large eyes fluttered downwards to the floor bashfully.

The soldier reached out with his flesh hand and tugged her to him while stepping back into the elevator.

"You trying to ask me on a date, doll?" he purred as he cradled her to his chest.

He rested his arms over her shoulders and regarded her with a cocky grin and an arched eyebrow.

The soft floral scent of her perfume filled his lungs as heat spiked through his body at the feeling of her slight frame pressed against his and he tried to remember how he ever survived without that feeling.

Looking up at him shyly with pink blooming once more in her cheeks, Salem wrapped her arms hesitantly around his waist and shrugged.

"If I am?" she asked lightly, but he could see doubt lingering in the depths of her amber eyes.

"Then JARVIS better get us moving to your floor," he responded and, as if waiting, the doors slid shut as the elevator began its ascent.

Bucky spent the time pressing light playful kisses on the freckles on her face, just to listen to her giggle and snort in laughter, until they reached her floor and Bucky reluctantly let her go as he followed her into the large open space of her home.

As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, the sound of claws clicking rapidly against the dark wooden floors met his ears, and soon a gray blur was jumping on Salem with happy yips and a tail wagging furiously.

"Hey there, baby!" Salem cooed as she pressed kisses on Echo's face and patted the overly excited Pitbull.

Satisfied with their greeting, and the amount of slobber on the blonde's face, the dog turned towards Bucky and launched at him.

Salem giggled, the sound making him grin, as he scratched behind the dog's ears.

"I'll be right back, I need to wash up," Salem said with a beaming smile.

Soon Barnes was alone as he walked around his Soulmate's place, Echo laying on the floor gnawing happily on a chew toy, as he listened to the distant sounds of Salem stumbling around in her bedroom.

The soldier sent a quick text to Natasha about the change of plans when he reached the kitchen, receiving a winking smiley face in response which he rolled his eyes at, and he lightly ran his fingers over the bright multicolored smiley face magnets she had stuck to the large stainless steel refrigerator next to a grocery list.

Bucky walked into the living room and wandered over to a large cherry wood book shelf, filled with books of varying shapes, that had a set of photos to a shelf to themselves.

The first picture was in a black wooden frame painted with small glittery silver stars and it showed a small gray Pitbull puppy sitting with his tongue lolling out of his mouth and a brightly colored birthday party hat situated between two small ears.

The next one was in a simple red frame and it held a photo of Echo surrounded by Autumn colored trees, looking at the camera with prideful eyes, as a bright yellow leaf dangled from his mouth.

Barnes glanced over a few more pictures before one caught his eyes and a smile bloomed across his features.

In a glossy wooden frame was a picture of a man, a woman, and a teenage girl with their faces squished together to fit in the frame.

With a start he realized that this had to be Salem and her parents.

The woman had familiar wildly curly hair that was let loose to brush against her shoulders in a cascade of honey brown. Her thin face was bright and happy as she beamed at the camera causing her bright blue eyes to shine.

The man's smile was smaller, but no less happy, and his freckled face reflected the love that was clearly visible in his amber colored eyes. His pale blond hair was cut short and simple with a few strands ruffled and sticking up.

Salem looked young, probably about sixteen, and Barnes gently picked up with picture frame to study it closer.

Her pale hair fell past her shoulders in untamable curls, framing her smiling face, and her black glasses were slightly crooked from her face being smooshed. Bright amber eyes were filled with love and affection as she grinned broadly at the camera.

"Oh man, I look so lame in that picture," a soft voice muttered behind him and he glanced over his shoulder to see Salem leaning around him to look at the picture while pushing up her glasses.

She was dressed in light gray lounge pants and an off-white long sleeve shirt with a small cartoon lamb sewn in the bottom corner.

Her pale hair was let loose and fuzzy brightly striped blue and pink socks adorned her small feet.

Bucky grinned and gingerly placed the frame back on the self.

"It's a lovely picture. I didn't know you used to have long hair," he said with a raised eyebrow and she glanced at the picture with a soft smile.

"Used to, but I cut it a few months after that picture was taken," she responded, her voice drifting as she walked into the kitchen.

"Make yourself comfortable," she then shouted as the sound of her fumbling around in the kitchen soon followed.

The dark haired man eyed the sleek black leather couches that had thick soft dark golden and cream colored blankets thrown over the back with matching multiple large fluffy pillows.

Bucky sat on the couch and Echo came trotting over with a bright pink chew toy and curled onto his dog bed that was beside the couch.

After a few moments he decided, in a fit of unusual nervous fidgeting, to unlace his boots and tuck them neatly under the coffee table before settling back into his seat.

The cream colored blanket was soft and smelled like clean laundry and citrus, letting him relax as he continued to look around the large room.

Eventually the blonde came shuffling back with a huge bowl of popcorn, sodas, and a pack of chocolate chip cookies.

Bucky shot up and quickly grabbed the items from her, receiving a small smile in return, and as he placed everything on the coffee table she began booting up the movie.

He couldn't help smile as she hummed a tuneless sound softly under her breath.

"I like your place," he said after a while as he plucked a pillow from beside him and settled it in his lap and Salem glanced at him for over her slender shoulder before looking around with a grin.

"Thank you, I still can't wait till I get my own place," she said and the soldier froze with his hands curling around the pillow as a flare of panic fluttered in his chest.

"You don't like it here?" he managed to ask lightly, watching as she shrugged at his question from her position cross-legged on the floor.

"This place is amazing, but I would like to have my own place that's not filled to the brim with agents, and it's horrible running around this building just to take Echo out," she answered.

Bucky hummed.

"It's safest here," he responded and he heard her snort before crawling to her feet.

"This is the _'Avengers' Tower'_ so I'm pretty sure there is a big ol' target on this building," she countered before flipping off the lights and plopping down on the couch a few inches to his left making any further argument poised at the tip of his tongue dissipate at the feel of her body heat soaking through the thin material of his shirt.

As the movie began playing, Bucky let himself relax against the soft leather, and let his blue eyes occasionally drift from the large television to the small woman next to him who tried to appear ladylike while shoving fistfuls of popcorn in her mouth.

Salem was pressed against his left arm and Bucky frowned at what must have been an uncomfortable position for her and he studied her relaxed posture.

He waited until she was completely engrossed with the explosions on the screen before he slid his arms around her slender shoulders and gently tugged her until she was leaning flush against his side with her head resting on his chest.

Salem tensed for a moment, he felt her breath hitch, before she slowly relaxed against him.

His breath caught in his lungs momentarily at the realization that he was cuddled on the couch with Salem, pressed flush against each other, and he couldn't help but to release a small satisfied sigh.

Feeling content, with his Soulmate beside him and leaning against him trustingly, Barnes stretched his legs out and gave his attention to the movie and to the main character who was zip lining between two skyscrapers.

The movie was halfway over when he felt her hum softly and nuzzle closer causing the soldier's attention to be pulled from the screen to glance down at her curiously.

Salem's brown eyes were drooping, her head lolling on his chest, and her small hands curled under her cheek.

He didn't realize that his metal fingers were gently carding through her hair and when he froze she made a small noise of protest.

"I don't mind it," she mumbled before nuzzling into him once more and he hesitated before a small smile ghosted over his lips when she peaked up at him from under her lashes sleepily.

He didn't bother to resist the urge to press a kiss to the side of her head, the now familiar soft scent of her lemon shampoo filled his nose, and felt his body heat at the feel of her silky strands against his face as he nuzzled her soft hair.

"If I fall asleep…would you be upset?" she murmured with a yawn and Bucky grinned and placed another kiss to her hair.

Bucky couldn't help the small chuckle that left him at the soft satisfied noise she made.

He grabbed the throw blanket off the couch before settling it around her, tucking her in, and focused on the movie with a smile as a soft snore escaped his Soulmate who was already fast asleep.

* * *

Come talk with me on [tumblr](http://this-red-in-my-ledger.tumblr.com/)!


	16. Heart growing fonder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was asked some time ago if there was a person that I drew inspiration from for Salem's description. I didn't have anybody in mind whenever I pictures her, but I did do some research for you lovelies. I know that it would help some to have a visual image so after some extensive searching I found someone who I think is as close to what I picture Salem to look like. She is an actress named Freya Mavor for those who want to take a look :) I am going to start posting when the new chapters will be updated on my tumblr for anybody who wants to know!

Staring out of the window from her spot in the dining room of the home, Salem watched as the sky turned from bright oranges and reds, to deep purples and dark pinks.

Pale green curtains swirled in the cool breeze from the slightly open window. The breeze was cold and carried the smell of moist earth, charred wood, and of oncoming rain.

The cream colored walls were illuminated by the warm glow of the small stained glass chandelier overhead.

Rubbing away the ache in her chest Salem settled more into her chair while glancing at her laptop in front of her and continued tapping at the keyboard.

The petite blonde was still surprised about how much she missed her Soulmate and the other Avengers even though she kept busy with the holiday preparations.

Good thing that they kept in extremely frequent touch.

"Did you really call me to ask if you could eat my leftover pizza in the fridge?" Salem asked in mild exasperation into the phone pressed against her ear.

There was a beat of silence that Salem spent staring blankly out the window once more.

"Maybe," Natasha muttered with the distinct sound of chewing immediately following.

Clicking through her laptop at the multiple housing listings that Pepper Potts sent her, Salem bit back a grumble as she eyed a particularly expensive house and then again at the obvious sounds through her phone.

"You are already eating it, aren't you?" she asked and once again there was silence on the other end.

The young woman rolled her eyes heavenwards.

"Probably…you're not here to eat it anyways," her friend responded before once again chewing filled the silence and Salem shook her head while brushing at invisible lint on her jeans and picking at a loose thread on the pale pink camisole she was wearing.

Distantly Salem heard her mother walking around her childhood home muttering softly to herself as she listed things that needed to be done around the house.

Salem's grandfather, a cantankerous old man with hard eyes and sharp tongue that terrified her since she was a little girl, had surprisingly held on to their Georgia home for her parents when they moved.

Her grandfather didn't change a single thing inside the house or outside and she was filled with nostalgia at the familiar surroundings.

The first three days back home Salem remained disoriented at being able to relax on the couch without hearing bickering for the remote or being stuck in the middle of a popcorn war.

Seeing the beaming smiles on her parents as they went through their day always made warmth fill her chest and eased weight off her shoulders that she didn't know she carried.

Salem traced shapes on the dark wooden kitchen table, something she had done as a kid, and hummed into the phone.

"You know you can call just to chat," Salem said after a minute of silence.

Since she left, with a kiss from her Soulmate that still had her toes curling, Salem had received numerous phone calls and random texts from the Avengers.

Natasha or Barton would call and text for the simplest thing, from asking what movie to watch or what they should order for dinner, and then stay on the phone for at least an hour talking.

It almost felt like they thought they needed a specific reason to call Salem.

Tony would text at all odd hours, especially in the early morning, talking about whatever he was tinkering with as she dozed off more than once listening to his caffeine-fueled quick chatter.

Steve would call every morning and every night to make sure she had a good day and talk about what she did.

Those calls she couldn't help but find endearing.

The phone calls she would look forward to most, however, was the rare ones with Bucky from wherever his mission was.

At the memory of his low sleepy-like voice murmuring in her ear, her face went hot, while she attempted to rub the ache away once again in her chest at his absence.

Natasha grumbled something that Salem couldn't quite make out and sudden curiosity had the small blonde frowning.

"Aren't you doing anything for Thanksgiving?" she asked and received a rather offended sounding scoff in response.

"Of course! Barton and I are going to convince Stark to buy a bunch of expensive take-out while we watch movies," she said defensively and Salem felt her frown deepen at her friend's words.

"That's not Thanksgiving! That's just another day after a tough mission," she explained while growing more aghast at Natasha's lackluster holiday plans.

"Thanksgiving is supposed to be with your friends and family! Where everyone is piled together laughing, cooking, and eating!" Salem explained enthusiastically.

Her words were met with silence.

"Friends and family?" Natasha asked softly and Salem was thrown momentarily by the hesitance in her tone.

"Of course, friends and family, the people you care about" she replied, her fingers slowing to a stop from their tapping on her laptop.

"Oh, well I guess I will…talk to you later," her friend said sounding a bit surprised and a little later the phone call ended.

The young woman rubbed a slender hand over her face, popping her glasses up to rub her sore eyes, before staring blearily at another insanely expensive house.

Giving up on house-hunting, she shut her computer down, and glared at her phone as a soft chime emanated from it indicating an incoming text.

Salem braced herself before picking it up only to snort out a laugh when she opened the message and saw a picture of Castiel wearing a coconut bra and grass skirt while holding both thumbs up with a broad beaming smile.

"I don't think I have ever heard your phone go off so much in such a small amount of time," an amused voice muttered and Salem turned in her chair to glance at the person who spoke.

"You would think they had better things to do," Salem replied as she watched her mother scribble on a notepad.

Mallory Sterling's bright blue eyes crinkled at the corners as her full lips pulled into a smile.

Her emerald green wrap dress swirled around her ankles and her billowy sleeves fluttered at her thin wrists as she straightened from her leaning position against the wooden kitchen counter and stuck her pencil into her honey brown hair that was pulled into a messy bun.

"I seemed to remember a time where you would sit by the phone waiting for a friend to call you," she whispered in a conspiratorial tone and Salem blushed in mortification at the memory.

"Besides, I'm sure they just miss you," her mother continued as she opened a kitchen cabinet to rifle through its contents.

Salem propped her chin up on her arms that were curled over the back of her chair and she watched her small foot swing lightly just over the Cherrywood floor.

The fuzzy bright red, black, and white striped socks had a small crimson hourglass on each side near the top.

Salem had opened her suitcase when she arrived home and saw the pair of socks placed snugly on top of her things.

She still wondered how Natasha snuck them in there.

"It's kinda strange," she admitted softly and her mother hummed in question.

"To think that _'The Avengers'_ miss my company," she said and her mom just smiled softly.

"Who wouldn't miss you?" she countered before her soft grin turned sly.

"Don't think I haven't heard you on the phone with your dear Soulmate," she cooed and Salem felt her cheeks turn hot.

"M-mom!" she spluttered out and the older woman snickered before walking over to run her cool slender fingers through Salem's pale hair.

"I also see the way your face gets all soft and pink," she continued causing the young blonde to groan and bury her warm face in her arms.

Salem felt her press a kiss to her head before drifting back into the kitchen still giggling.

"Nothing to be embarrassed by, sweetie! I think it is fantastic that you finally found him," she said and Salem peeked up from her position.

"You know…you and dad are taking it really well that a national hero from the _40's_ is actually alive…and that I am _dating_ him," she grumbled causing her mother to smile broadly at her while plucking the pencil from her hair to once again scribble on her notepad.

"Well, I think your father and I are more occupied by the fact that you found your Soulmate," the woman said simply.

Right on cue the front door slammed opened, allowing a freezing gust of wind blow through the house, and an overly excited Echo came darting through the house dragging his leash on the floor behind him.

"Simon, he still has his leash on," her mother chided while crouching to scratch behind the Pitbull's ears and Salem's father poked his head around the corner while putting his jacket in the small closet by the door.

"I knew I was forgetting something," he muttered and Salem smiled as her pet trotted over to her.

Unhooking the dark blue leash from his thick black leather collar, she rolled it up and placed it on the table, and the thin frame of her father stumbled into the kitchen.

His pale blond short hair stuck up in multiple directions, his cheeks and nose was pink from the cold, and his amber eyes roamed over the room until he spotted his wife.

"That dog nearly dragged me the whole time we were out," he complained while giving her a peck on the cheek and her mother beamed at him.

"Sorry about that, dad. I think he is used to a super soldier running with him," Salem admitted shyly and her dad just blinked at her owlishly.

"Huh," he said slowly and Salem nuzzled her face against Echo's as she grinned at her father's reaction.

The blonde woman sat back and watched as her parents shuffled around the small kitchen while resuming their conversation that Salem soon zoned out of.

She couldn't help but to notice the way they moved around each other.

Her father shifting on his left foot right before her mother reached for the cabinet beside him.

Her mother moved two steps to her right when her father stumbled and bumped into the counter.

Watching them move in sync a question shot to the forefront of her brain and out her mouth before she could process what she was saying.

"Did you ever have dreams about each other? Like…dreams of each other's past?" she rambled out before wincing as both her parents stilled and looked over at her.

The silence was horrible.

Her mother's features soon melted into something soft and she nodded towards her father.

"Yes, right after we met," she murmured and Salem felt her eyes widen even as her father squinted at her.

"You're having dreams about your Sergeant Barnes?" he asked and Salem's cheeks went warm at his word choice.

"Ah, more like…memories? His memories," she mumbled and her father frowned.

"I wonder if he dreams of you?" her mother wondered out loud and Salem blushed at her rather lame and embarrassing past.

"You know what? I am really tired," the blonde said quickly with a stretch and a small fake yawn causing her mother to laugh.

"Fine, go to sleep. We can always finish talking tomorrow," she stated and before Salem could protest both her parents kissed her cheek while biding goodnight.

Trudging up the stairs to her room with her laptop firmly under her arm, with Echo following close behind, Salem started to feel the exhaustion in her limbs with each step and let out a real yawn.

"Talk about awkward," she muttered to her pet while pushing her glasses higher on her nose.

She walked through her door only to stumble as a small black, white, and gray blur darted between her legs and Echo huffed at the cat who darted down the stairs.

Sitting on her thick pale pink blankets on her bed was a brown long-haired cat with white on its chest, the tip of its fluffy tail, and its paws.

Bronze colored eyes blinked lazily at her.

"Pretzel, you know you're not allowed on my bed," Salem grumbled while walking over and scratched behind the cat's twitching ears.

The cat stood and stretched languidly while Echo's tail thumped loudly against the wooden floor as he spotted a potential playmate.

Pretzel, her parent's favorite pet, hopped off the bed and strutted towards the door.

Echo huffed and wasted no time in chasing the cat, intent on playing, and Salem rolled her eyes while shutting her door after them.

She set her computer down on her small white desk and stepped into her small bathroom, decorated in soft peach colored tones and creamy white, adjacent to her room.

Switching out her jeans for simple gray sweatpants, Salem brushed her teeth and hair, before placing her glasses on her white wooden bedside table and flopped onto her bed with a small sigh.

She looked around the familiar surroundings as she snuggled deeper into her plush pillow.

The walls were painted a light blush pink and the trim was pristine white. She had white wooden dressers with dark gold fixtures and two large gray plush rugs were placed under her desk and at the foot of her bed.

A little golden lamp on her desk cast a buttery glow and filtered through the gauzy white canopy surrounding her bed.

Her bedframe was dark gold iron work and pale pink and soft gray thick pillows decorated her bed.

The overstuffed bookshelf against her wall, wooden figurines on her shelves, and paintings on the wall filled her with nostalgia tinged with loneliness.

Sighing again, she buried her face in her pillow and breathed deeply the scent of clean laundry detergent.

An unbidden image of her Soulmate flashed behind her closed lids accompanied by a strong surge of yearning.

' _It's so strange…'_ she thought to herself, _'we are still in the beginning stages of our relationship, yet I hate being away from him.'_

She analyzed her thoughts and thought back to her psychology classes.

' _It's either an effect of the Soulmate bond or I am becoming embarrassingly clingy,'_ she eventually mused followed by a muffled grumble.

Salem decided to ignore her thoughts and instead listened to the distant sounds of her parents shuffling around.

She heard her mother coo at something, either her darling cat or Salem's dog, and her father was humming off key.

She listened to them for nearly an hour before hearing them creep upstairs to their room at the end of the hall.

Salem stretched while staying facedown and let her legs starfish over her blanket.

The cool material slid against her bare arms as she shifted and a small pleased sigh left her while sinking deeper into her bed.

She must have dozed off because suddenly her eyes popped open.

Salem lifted her head to try and figure out what had woken her as she blinked her grogginess away.

Her amber eyes trailed over her room by the glow of her desk lamp, searching the shadows that were casted, and she stumbled to her feet to turn it off while shrugging at having found nothing.

Her slender fingers were stretched out, ready to click her lamp off, when a soft _'clink'_ had her freezing.

A frown curled her plump lips and she glanced around her room _. 'Clink…clink,'_ the soft noise had her eyes narrowing in confusion.

Her eyes landed on her window, the gray lace curtains pulled to the side to reveal the dark night.

A pebble hit the window with another soft _'clink.'_

"What in the world…?" she muttered, now thoroughly bewildered, and she hesitantly crept towards her window and opened it.

She leaned against the window pane and poked her head out into the cold night air.

"I was afraid I was going to have to throw a brick next, doll," a low voice whispered causing her heart to jump into her throat and her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark as she squinted.

Salem felt her heart begin to pound in her chest and she nearly launched herself out of the window.

Freezing wind tangled in her pale hair and slapped the curls across her face as chills erupted over her exposed skin as she looked into the darkness.

A large figure emerged out of the shadows and the light from the crescent moon shined down on the tall man.

Dark hair swayed at his broad shoulders in the crisp night air, winter blue eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight, and a flash of sleek silver gleamed through the dark.

She didn't need to see though; she would know that voice anywhere and the feeling of her heart soaring in her chest left little to no doubt at who her visitor was.

"Bucky?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr is this-red-in-my-ledger, feel free to come and talk or ask questions! :)


	17. Sensation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TADA! Hope you all enjoy!

There had many times in Salem’s life where she imaged a scenario just like this.

Having a boyfriend that would wait outside her window at night while she snuck out of her room for a midnight rendezvous.

What she didn’t expect, however, was after the shock and happiness wore off she was filled with panic at the thought of Bucky inside her bedroom.

“You going to invite me in?” Bucky whispered with a smile clear in his voice and Salem quickly snapped back to attention.

“Um, yes,” she whispered hastily before jerking away from her window and spinning around to let her amber eyes scan across her room.

Then rolled her eyes at her actions. _‘Yeah let me just get the ladder I keep in my closet,’_ she thought while nibbling on her bottom lip nervously.

Salem finally decided to try to sneak him through the front door and when she turned back to tell him, she was greeted by the sight of her Soulmate climbing gracefully and silently through her window.

She dimly worried that his broad shoulders wouldn’t fit through the window frame.

Then suddenly the constant ache in her chest since leaving disappeared completely as he quietly stepped into her room, his booted feet silent on the wooden floors.

With the light from her lamp she was able to see more clearly and her breath got stuck in her throat.

His sharp jawline was dusted with beard stubble and his thick dark hair was slightly damp and windswept. He was dressed in dark jeans and a maroon colored shirt under a black jacket. Pale blue eyes traveled languidly over her, from head to toe, and her cheeks warmed at his perusal.

Clearing her throat, she turned on her heel and stumbled over to her light switch, flicking it on with a murmured apology before turning back to face him and instantly regretted turning on the light.

He was just as devastatingly handsome as the last time she saw him.

With the added light she could trace the outline of his high cheekbones and full lips, follow the way his broad chest expanded with every inhale, and the pale pink walls of her room made his large frame seem even bigger.

“Hi,” Salem said lamely with a small wave.

The smile she received had any awkwardness melt away.

“Hey there yourself,” he replied with an easy smile and the slender woman hooked a pale curl behind her ear nervously.

“Um, feel free to…sit?” she offered before realizing that the two seats were her bed and her desk chair that definitely would not hold his bulk.

Not able to handle the awkward silence, Salem began to race over room, clearing any clutter that her eyes landed on.

She shut the window, smoothed out her blanket, kicked her shoes into her closet, and with a red face she shoved her steamy romance novel that was under her pillow in her bedside table.

Taking a deep fortifying breath, she turned and noticed that Bucky was slowly wandering around her bedroom, a small happy smile curling his lips.

He eyed her overstuffed bookshelf with curiosity and let a long finger trace the many worn spines of her books and sketch pads.

He lingered on her numerous romance novels.

He gingerly picked up a wooden figurine and studied it closely.

It was made of pale glassy wood and the detail was exquisite for something only a few inches tall.

The carving was of a petite woman wearing a long sundress sitting cross-legged with a thick book in her lap. She was poised as if turning the page, long curling hair brushed over one slender shoulder, and the delicate structure of her face expressing concentration and relaxation. One hand was braced against her cheek and full lips were upturned into a serene smile.

Salem’s Soulmate traced the detail in the folds of the dress with careful metal fingers and barely touched the face with the gleaming metal.

“My dad made that for me a few years back,” Salem said hesitantly, recalling the sunny day, and Barnes gently returned the statue back in its exact place before turning back to her.

“He’s very talented,” he responded as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

They stared at each other in silence, the sound of their breathing filled the room, and she couldn’t stop her brown eyes from traveling over his body once more.

“I hope you don’t mind me dropping by,” he began as the silence dragged on and Salem snapped her amber eyes back to his face.

“Huh?” she asked as she tried to forget how well he filled out his pants and the corners of his lips pulled into a small grin as her freckled cheeks heated.

“I hope you don’t mind me stopping by…I just wanted to see you,” he repeated and Salem felt a smile bloom across her face at his words.

“No, I don’t mind at all! I am glad you came by. Although…how did you know where I was?” she asked and was slightly stunned when Bucky cleared his throat awkwardly and stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets.

“Uh…I asked Tony,” he admitted gruffly.

Salem raised an eyebrow at his words and glanced around her room once more.

“So…want me to take your jacket?” she asked after a moment and flushed at the smile she received.

The former sergeant shrugged out of his jacket and Salem busied herself with placing the heavy fabric on the rack on her closet door.

She turned back and saw him running his fingertips over her hairbrush and lotion bottles that where placed on her dresser, an odd look on his face, and Salem nervously hooked a lock of hair behind her ear again.

She sat cross-legged on her bed and hesitantly cleared her throat.

“You can sit?” She offered and Bucky looked over at her and that odd look disappeared as he smiled.

He sat beside her and the petite woman shivered as his body heat seemed to instantly wrap around her in a comforting blanket.

The smell of sweet mint, lingering tang of gunpowder, and something spicy filled her nose and she nearly sighed at the familiar scent.

“How was your mission?” she asked after a moment and at once saw his large body tense.

The sudden quiet was deafening, turning from awkward to smothering in the span of a heartbeat, and the blonde woman found herself watching his face at the sudden shift.

“It was a mission…nothing special,” he replied calmly and Salem felt herself frown at his answer.

“What happened?” she asked quietly, just a bit more firmly than she intended, and she saw a muscle tick in his jaw.

She could basically see the internal struggle he was having and she became increasingly worried as he remained quiet.

“My mission was to follow up on the shooting at the diner,” he eventually said and Salem felt her body turn cold at his words.

“Oh,” she whispered, her heart dropping to her stomach, and watched as her slender hands plucked at her gray sweatpants.

“Did…did you find anything?” she muttered and listened to Bucky release a deep sigh.

Suddenly his large calloused hand reached out and clasped her fidgeting hand in his.

She glanced up and met Bucky’s bright blue eyes.

He was looking at her with a mixture of softness and determination.

“Come here,” he murmured with a small tug of her hand and she rolled to her knees to move closer to him.

He pulled her into his lap till she was straddling him and he wrapped his arms around her slender waist.

Heat rushed into her cheeks as she hesitantly rested her hands on his shoulders as her body tensed at the unfamiliarity.

He let out a deep breath and Salem could feel his warm breath tickle her lips and chin.

She fought against the shiver that tried to travel down her spine and then cleared her throat while feeling her body beginning to slowly relax against his.

“Unfortunately, it was a dead end. Even so, I want you to know that I’m not going to stop trying to find whoever was behind the attack,” he said and she felt his broad hands smooth almost unconsciously over her hips and lower back as he talked.

Salem gently twirled the ends of his hair around her fingers as she listened and broke out into a cold sweat at the prospect of the person responsible for the shooting still out in the world.

However, it was hard to be too worried when she felt so safe encircled in her Soulmate’s more than capable arms.

It was an odd feeling to be scared of something yet feeling completely safe with someone.

“You’ll keep me safe, Bucky,” Salem murmured, believing every word, while letting her fingers brush against his sharp jawline.

His eyes fluttered close, thick eyelashes brushing his cheekbones, and breathed in sharply through his nose.

Bucky pulled back, her hand dropping to his shoulder, and she looked at him.

From their position, she was just a hairsbreadth away from his face, and suddenly her brain went from _‘terrified for the future’_ to _‘wow, his eyes are beautiful,’_ in the span of a few heartbeats.

“Without a doubt,” he said softly as his winter blue eyes drifted over her face.

He removed one hand from her waist and brought it up to trace her cheek before combing through her pale curls.

“I promise I’ll keep you safe,” he said with a flare of determination hardening his eyes.

His face was both parts soft and fierce.

Salem felt her heart swell in her chest at his words and she lunged forward till their mouths meshed together.

Her face grew hot when she felt his body freeze in surprise, but she kept her mouth pressed to his as his stubble scratched against her chin.

After a few seconds he relaxed and Salem felt him release a soft sigh as he deepened the kiss.

She let her pale slender fingers travel over his broad shoulders hesitantly, tracing his muscles as they flexed when he pulled her closer, and she melted against him.

He pressed his full lips against hers and let his tongue trace the seam of her lips in a soft query and she opened her mouth on a small soft noise.

It wasn’t long before he coaxed her tongue into an almost playful dance and Salem’s heart quickened in her chest at the warmth that surged through her veins.

His grip tightened on her waist and his free hand gently tangled in her hair as her grip tightened on his shoulders.

The pressure of lips and the slick slide of tongues was addicting and the taste of her Soulmate was intoxicating.

Bucky drew away from her and she drew in a sharp breath, only then realizing how much her lungs were burning from lack of air.

She didn’t have time to think of much else when she suddenly felt Bucky trail white hot kisses over her cheeks and to her throat.

She tilted her head back with a small pleased noise, relishing in the new sensations and, with each sensual kiss, heat would rush over her skin and linger at her breasts and low in her groin.

She suddenly jerked in his arms and gasped in surprise when she felt sharp teeth nip her throat.

The sharp sting was immediately replaced by a hot soothing lick followed by more wet sucking kisses.

Salem shivered and felt her spine turn liquid while her body began growing increasingly hot until she felt like her blood was liquid fire.

A sudden shift had her opening her eyes, _‘When did I close them?”_ , and felt the cool material of her blankets against her back.

Salem looked up into Bucky’s eyes as he hovered over her, he seemed to hesitate for a moment, and the blonde made a displeased noise before pulling him down by his shoulders to resume their kiss.

Her heart was now beating a quick rhythm and with each drag of his lips against hers sent heat sweeping through her.

The man above her released a deep groan before following her relentless tugging and gingerly laid his body over hers.

At the feeling of his heavy weight pressed against her, his strong chest pressed against her aching breasts, had Salem gasping into Bucky’s mouth and tangling her fingers in his soft hair.

He brought his left arm up to brace himself on his elbow beside her head while his other smoothed over her ribs and hip.

Salem didn’t think twice about letting her fingers travel over his biceps before smoothing lightly over his ribcage.

Bucky moved back to her throat leaving her to pant for air and she tilted her head to the side once again.

The feel of rough stubble and his warm lips had chills erupting across her skin and she arched towards him to chase the feeling.

He began sucking wet warm kisses on her throat and she whimpered in surprise at how pleasurable it felt and her fingers twisted in his shirt.

She found it gradually harder to catch her breath when he moved further down her throat.

Heat and pleasure had made it hard to think even when she ultimately decided that she needed _more_.

Salem ran her hands fitfully over his waist and back with a small distressed noise before Bucky raised himself up onto his knees.

Bucky grinned at the displeased noise she made at the sudden lack of his body heat, his full lips red and wet, and Salem let her amber eyes rake over him.

Her Soulmate was stunning.

His dark hair was tangled from her fingers running through the soft strands, under dark stubble his cheeks were flushed, and his pale eyes with blown pupils scorched her.

Despite the heat in his gaze, his expression was soft, and the warmth in her chest bloomed at the gentle look.

 _‘Luckiest girl in the world,’_ she thought.

All thoughts soon left her when he reached up with his left hand, gripped the back of his shirt, and tugged it off.

Salem was suddenly glad she was laying down, because her knees went weak.

Her already warm cheeks burned and a frankly embarrassing sound escaped her.

Her racing heart stuttered in her chest as she nearly gaped at him.

His thick muscles shifted in a display of unbridled strength under golden skin and a silver chain holding antique looking dog tags rested between rather spectacular pectorals.

Shadows were cast by the sharp lines of his abdominal muscles and Salem had to fight the urge to trace them with her fingers.

She watched the rise and fall of his bare broad shoulders before her amber eyes landed on where flesh met metal and suddenly her brain decided to start working.

The seam where the metal arm met his shoulder was a harsh mesh of scars, raised and nearly barbaric, almost as if more attention was paid to the arm than the actual person it was being melded to.

Salem didn’t realize she moved to sit up until she felt warm skin underneath her fingertips.

She then realized that her Soulmate was holding himself completely still, not even breathing, and she could feel his eyes on her.

Bucky’s eyes were carefully blank when she looked up at him, but she saw a muscle tick in his jaw as if he was clenching his teeth.

Salem moved her hand back until it was hovering over his shoulder and she dropped her eyes back to the scars.

“Does it hurt?” she murmured and it was a few seconds before Bucky shook his head stiffly.

The blonde woman brushed her fingertips against raised skin and let her slender fingers explore the warm metal before drifting over to the thinner scars branching outwards on his pectoral.

Salem couldn’t help but to think of the many contrasts.

His skin was warm and tan, the metal cool and sleek, while her hand was slender and dainty.

“Beautiful…” she said quietly, more to herself, and there was a heartbeat of silence before she felt him cup her cheeks.

She forced herself to look up and offered a shy smile.

“You are something else, you know that?” Bucky murmured and Salem felt herself grin at his words before he leaned down to press their lips together.

Melting back into her pillows with her Soulmate kissing her slow and hot, the young blonde shivered.

Salem let her hands gingerly trail over the newly exposed skin, tracing the shifting muscles with her fingertips, and lost herself in the warmth of his skin.

She didn’t know how long they spent kissing, slow and sweet, when she felt calloused fingers brush under her camisole against the soft skin on her hip.

Her breath hitched in her throat and Barnes nipped at her kiss-swollen lips.

Suddenly, without warning, he jerked back and swung his bright eyes towards her door as his body went absolutely still.

Salem was disoriented by the sudden lack of body heat and his mouth on hers, her thoughts scattered, and she blinked up at him.

His lips were red and a pink tinge decorated his cheeks and his eyes didn’t waver from her door.

A few minutes later, Salem was about to ask why he stopped, when she heard footsteps in the hall.

A soft knock on her door had her bolting upright, nearly face planting on Bucky’s chest, and Salem’s heart began to thump wildly in her chest for an entirely different reason.

“Salem? Are you awake?” the soft voice of her father was muffled through the door and Salem and Bucky shared a look.

Although his expression was far more amused than hers.

“J-just about to go to sleep,” she replied, wincing at how breathless her voice sounded, and she heard her father shift his feet.

“Oh, okay. I was just wondering what the noises were,” he continued and Salem’s face burned in realization after a few seconds.

Bucky looked at her rather smugly as she glared at him.

“I was…watching a movie,” she explained lamely and received a quirked brow from her Soulmate.

Thankfully he stayed silent.  

“Okay. Well, get some sleep,” her father said and after biding goodnight she heard him shuffle back down the hall.

The petite woman waited until Barnes started to chuckle before she buried her freckled face in her hands with a groan.

“That was horrible,” she grumbled as her cheeks heated in embarrassment.

“At least he didn’t open the door. It would have been hard to explain what a half-naked man was doing in your bed,” he said, the smile clear in his voice, and she looked up from her hands and glared at him halfheartedly.

“You could have told me to be more quiet!” she hissed and felt more than heard his chuckle from where she was still pressed against him.

“Yeah, never going to happen,” he responded with blue eyes twinkling and a wicked smile that momentarily left her with no higher brain function.

Bucky leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“You should get some sleep,” he said while shuffling away from her.

A surge of panic filtered through her embarrassment and she lunged for his hand, his metal one, and she looked up at him when he moved off her bed.

“Are you going to stay?” she asked and got a small smile in return.

“If you want, but maybe I should put my shirt back on…” he said and Salem rolled her eyes as she released his hand and crawled under her blankets.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she muttered before she could stop herself and blushed when she received a smirk from her Soulmate.

Bucky walked towards her desk and switched off her lamp before crawling on to the bed beside her.

Salem tugged down the blankets for him and he hesitated for a second before sliding under with her.

In the darkness, with her brain starting to work rationally again, her awkwardness began to make her fidget.

They both laid side-by-side, her body slowly tensing up, for a few minutes while her brain flipped through every embarrassing situation she could be in.

 _‘What if I steal the blanket? or drool on him? What if I take off my pants while I’m sleeping?’_ she thought with a small wince, thinking about her strange habit she’s had since a kid.

With a sudden sigh, Bucky rolled over to face her, and wrapped his arm around her before pulling her close.

His left arm was tucked underneath her pillow and his right arm was curled around her waist.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and nuzzled her hair.

She was pressed against his chest, his body heat once again soaking through her thin clothes, and she shifted even closer to him.

Spurred by the happy feeling steadily swelling in her chest, she placed a small kiss on his pectoral over the soothing beat of his heart, and smiled at the feeling of him nuzzling against her hair with a pleased grunt.

“Goodnight, Bucky,” she murmured into the darkness and Bucky reached up to comb his fingers through her pale curls.

“Goodnight, Salem,” he replied quietly and she closed her eyes.

Only a few seconds past before she was lulled to sleep by the sound of her Soulmate’s heartbeat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come talk with me on tumblr this-red-in-my-ledger


	18. Pleasure Meets Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided to write little snippets and behind the scenes for this story. These snippets will only be posted on tumblr. I have made a secondary blog, under still-always-dreaming titled Slice of Life, where I have already posted a few things. I am only doing this for ITAW since it is part of a series I will be writing. I hope you all enjoy and feel free to send in questions, comments, or even ideas! :)

Knocking on Salem’s bedroom door had her eyes flipping open as she shot upright in her bed as her heart gave a near painful jolt of adrenaline.

 

Her amber eyes swung to the spot next to her and was greeted by an empty space.

 

She blinked before releasing a sigh and flopped back down on her bed.

 

“Are you going to stay in bed all day?” her father’s muffled voice spoke, making Salem scrub a hand down her face with a yawn before she laid her hand on the pillow beside her.

 

It was still warm.                

 

“I’m up,” she called and listened to the footsteps as he stumbled back downstairs.

 

The clinking of pots and smell of food drifted through the house causing her stomach to grumble as she realized that she slept longer than usual.

 

As her heart slowed into a steadier rhythm, she found herself frowning at the ceiling.

 

She was a little miffed that Bucky was gone without saying goodbye, but then again, she was glad she didn’t have to watch him leave.

 

She recalled the memory of his skin underneath her fingers, the pressure of his lips against hers, and her face flushed hotly in response even as a smile curled her plump lips.

 

After a few more minutes of lying in bed, smiling like an idiot as she remembered the events of last night, Salem stretched her arms, tunneling underneath the pillows, before freezing as her fingers brushed against something underneath the vacated pillow beside her.

 

She grabbed it and pulled it out with confusion.

 

It was a neatly folded piece of paper. She opened it and grinned at her Soulmate’s sharp cursive.

 

          _‘Best sleep I’ve had in a long time. Hate to leave, but I figured it would be wise if I wasn’t caught in your bed. Also, your pants are on the floor beside your bed._

_-B’_

 

The note read and Salem felt her grin morph into an embarrassed grimace. She shifted her legs and found that she was indeed pant-less.

“Of course,” she grumbled before sitting up and gingerly folding the note and placing it in her nightstand.

 

With another stretch, she stumbled out of her bed, and tugged her pants on when she spotted them crumpled on the ground on the wooden floor.

 

Salem shuffled to the bathroom and quickly went through her morning routine. It was when she was washing her hands when she just happened to glance up into the mirror.

 

She froze, gaped at herself, before tripping back to her room to shove on her glasses and leaning close to the mirror over her dresser.

 

“You’ve got to be kidding…,” she hissed into the silence of her room.

 

Trailing up the side of her throat and over the jut of her collarbones were red marks and small bruises. _‘Hickeys,’_ her brain supplied after a while of her gaping at her reflection.

 

The memory of her Soulmate’s lips trailing over her throat sent shivers down her spine and she took a few steps away from the mirror.

 

She shook her head at his obvious love of her Mark before coming to a sudden realization. She still hasn’t seen his Mark.

 

Salem frowned while beginning to ready herself for the day.

 

“Maybe if he comes back…,” she mused quietly as she tried to wrestle her pale hair into some semblance of order before giving up and leaving it down to curl wildly around her chin. She tugged on a loose dark plum colored short sleeved turtleneck, a pair of dark jeans, and bright lavender fuzzy socks.

 

After checking over her reflection to make sure everything was in order, double checking to make sure the marks on her throat were covered, she pushed up her glasses and wandered downstairs.

 

Echo rushed at her and darted in between her legs with his tail wagging furiously before she even made it off the last step.

 

“Well, morning Sleeping Beauty,” her dad called as he poked his head around the corner from the kitchen and she smiled sheepishly while scratching behind her dog’s ears as he sniffed her.

 

“Morning,” she replied before wandering into the kitchen with her pet trotting happily at her heels.

 

Her mother was filling plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast while her father finished setting the table.

 

Salem kissed both of her parent’s cheeks, their faces a little cold from the slightly open fogged window above the deep sink, and she was momentarily distracted watching the white gauze curtains flutter slightly with the breeze.

 

“Smells amazing,” she muttered softly and received a proud grin from her mother.

 

“I managed not to burn a single thing!” she chirped happily while sweeping the plates on the wooden table and Salem couldn’t help but to grin at her antics.

 

Her mother was dressed in a cozy looking cream colored sweater dress and bright green leggings, her bare feet padded across the wooden floors, and her honey colored hair was left down to curl around her shoulders. Her father was dressed in dark jeans and a dark brown sweater with the sleeves rolled up as he helped his wife with the plates as he smiled at his wife.

 

Salem quickly fed her dog, the tinkling of his food hitting the silver bowl mingling with her parents’ chatter, before plopping down in her chair.

 

They all sat down and began to eat as Echo wolfed down his own breakfast.

 

Salem could hear the faint jingle of a bell from her parent’s cat as he strolled through the house and Echo’s ears twitched in response.

 

They talked about the plans for the day as they ate and she fell into the easy rhythm of conversation as she pushed the memories from last night to the back of her mind.

 

It was after the plates were cleared away and dishes done when there was a sudden knock on the door.

 

Her parents traded confused looks and Salem raised her eyebrow in question before letting her dog loose into the backyard. The blast of cold wet wind had her shivering and she quickly huddled back into the warmth of the kitchen while squinting as her glasses fogged up.

 

“Lowell and Cecelia are early for coffee,” her father muttered while glancing at his watch before walking towards the front door.

 

“I didn’t know they were coming over,” Salem said as she tried to rub the chill away from her hands.

 

Her mother leaned against the sleek white stone counter and cradled her bright yellow coffee mug in her hand.

 

Lowell and Cecelia were neighbors to her parents, a young couple with a baby boy that Salem cooed over when she first met them.

 

At the memory of little chubby hands grasping her fingers and a toothless smile had the young woman smiling.

 

“Lowell wanted a piece from your father. A new rocking chair I think,” was the response and Salem nodded in understanding.

 

She grabbed a washcloth and began to wipe down the table. When she turned she noticed she was being stared at rather intently from behind the rim of the yellow mug.

 

Her mother hummed and bumped into Salem’s hip as she started to wipe down the counter.

 

“So your father tells me that you were up late,” she said and Salem felt her face began to heat at her words as she kept her eyes glued to her slender hands.

 

Her movements faltered as she swung her amber eyes over to her mother.

 

The older woman sipped delicately from her coffee cup while eyeing her. The smell of chocolate wafted over to Salem as her mother blew on her drink.

 

“Uh…yeah. Couldn’t sleep,” Salem mumbled in reply, wanting nothing more to crawl under a rock and hide from the probing gaze, and focused on the neat array of bright colored mugs on the counter in the corner.

 

Her mother hummed again.

 

“So, did you watch a movie or something?” she asked slyly and Salem could feel her face steadily turning more pink. She was always horrible at lying.

 

“I, uh…,” she stuttered, hooking a loose strand of hair behind her ear nervously, before looking at her mother. Sparkling blue eyes met her own and Salem felt mortification sweep over her.

 

‘She knows…,’ she inwardly groaned, but before she could squeak out an apology or explanation, her father’s nervous voice drifted through the house.

 

“Uh…S-Salem?” he called out and both women exchanged a curious look at his tone.

 

“Coming,” she called, glad to escape her mother’s knowing eyes, and she quickly shuffled to the front door.

 

Cold air from the door being open had her shivering again as she rounded the corner from the kitchen, but the sight in front of her had any complaints getting stuck in her throat.

 

Her father had stepped to the side, an inquisitive and shocked look on his face, and her eyes immediately fell on the figure standing on the porch.

 

Bucky Barnes stood almost nervously at the door, hands shoved deep into his jacket, and his pale eyes matched the cloudy sky behind him. He made quite an impression dressed in dark jeans that hugged his thighs, a deep blue shirt that was snug around his chest and loose at his waist, and a black bomber jacket was stretched over broad shoulders. His dark hair was brushed neatly back from his freshly shaven face and swayed at his shoulders.

 

Despite seeing him last night, her heart lurched in her throat, and she felt a smile bloom across her face.

 

“Bucky!” she breathed and, without much thought, launched herself at him. Immediately she felt strong arms wrap around her as she threw her arms around his shoulders and her feet dangled up from the ground.

 

He didn’t even budge as all her weight settled on him.

 

“Hey there,” he murmured with a smile evident in his voice and her heart thumped wildly in her chest at the feel of lips pressing against her temple in greeting.

 

After a few precious seconds of being held against his strong body, her brain decided to kick back into gear, and her cheeks heated even as cold wind numbed most of her face and hands from the open door.

 

 

Salem loosened her grip and Bucky reluctantly placed her gingerly back on her feet. She pulled back, letting her slender hands slide down his muscled arms until she reached one warm hand and one cold hand, and offered a shy smile.

 

He smiled back, his eyes crinkling adorably at the corners, and squeezed her hands gently. They continued to stare at each other and joy filled her at seeing him again.

 

His bright eyes flickered all over her, from her head to her toes, and she tried to ignore the way his eyes lingered on her throat that was covered by her shirt.

 

“Well, aren’t you going to invite him in? Or introduce us?” a soft voice chided from behind her and Salem nearly jumped at the sudden interruption.

 

Spinning around she saw her mother beaming at both of them and her father seemed a little dazed. Keeping her hand intertwined with his left hand, she turned back to her Soulmate with a nervous grin as she shoved her glasses back into place.

 

“Want to come in?” she asked shyly and Bucky’s full lips twitched at the corners before he nodded.

 

Salem tugged gently on his hand and led him into the house while taking a deep fortifying breath.

 

Once the door was shut she followed her mother to the dining room as her father stumbled after his wife. The petite blonde glanced up and watched as Barnes swept his gaze around her home with a happy little smile.

 

At the sound of someone politely clearing their throat, she turned quickly to find her mom grinned brightly at them as her blue eyes darted between them, and Salem fought the urge to roll her amber eyes at the behavior.

 

Her dad still looked a little dazed.

 

“Mom…dad…this is Bucky,” she said with a small squeeze to the cold hard metal still linked with her hand. Salem suddenly felt a wave of awkwardness as she realized that this was the first time she introduced a boy to her parents.

 

She snuck a glance at the man beside her. _‘Go big or go home,’_ she thought dimly.

 

It felt like his large body shrunk the room around them, her hands started to sweat, and butterflies fluttered in her stomach as silence stretched between them.

 

“H-He’s my…uh…boyfriend? Soulmate…we live together. N-not _together- together_ , but in the same…building,” she rambled and could just feel her face turning numerous shades of red.

 

Thankfully, Bucky saved her from continuously putting her foot in her mouth.

 

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Bucky said with a bright smile as he held out his hand. Her mother reached out to shake his hand with a smile before giggling when Barnes swooped down to press a kiss to her knuckles.

 

“Pleasure is mine! And please, call me Mallory,” she gushed with a wide smile.

 

“Good to meet you. Call me Simon,” her father said as he shook Bucky’s hand while eyeing him.

 

Mischief filled blue eyes dropped to where Salem was gripping Bucky’s hand, making her realize that she was nervously stroking her thumb over his metal fingers, and received a small smile.

 

“Can’t say how happy we are that you two finally found each other,” her mom said with love clear in her voice and Salem blushed as Bucky squeezed Salem’s hand in agreement.

 

“Thought that since I laid eyes on her,” her soldier responded rather gruffly and her mother beamed at him once again even as Salem blinked up at him in surprise.

 

“So are you staying for Thanksgiving?” she asked nonchalantly and her dad just shook his head and his brown eyes flickered between Bucky and his wife.

 

“Mom,” Salem hissed, her face warming in embarrassment, and she found herself unable to look at her Soulmate.

 

As if on cue the growling sound of a motorcycle pulling into the driveway followed by a car had all heads turning to the front door.

 

“I’ll see who it is,” her father muttered, sounding a little relieved that he could leave the conversation, and Salem shared a confused look with Bucky.

 

“Oh! Where’s my manners?” her mother suddenly said once her father disappeared.

 

“Would you like something to eat or drink?” she asked while waving in the direction of the kitchen behind them. “No, I’m good. Thank you,” Bucky responded and Salem cringed at the mischievous look that twinkled in blue eyes.

 

“Well…next time, you should at least stay for breakfast,” she offered innocently and Barnes frowned before realization lightened his features.

 

The blush that tinted his high cheekbones would have been adorable if Salem wasn’t trying to decompose from embarrassment.

 

“Right…,” Bucky murmured and received a wink from the older woman as she grinned.

 

“Uh…Mallory,” came the unsure voice of her father and she patted Bucky on the arm as she drifted past them.

 

“I-I am so sorry,” Salem groaned while covering her face with her free hand. Her soldier chuckled softly and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

 

“Wasn’t so bad, doll,” he mumbled against her hair and Salem couldn’t help the small smile that curled the corners of her lips.

 

“Salem…,” her father called and she glanced up to Bucky before tugging him with her to the front door where she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

 

Standing bunched together in the doorway, beaming brightly at her, was _The Avengers_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to come visit me on tumblr at this-red-in-my-ledger :)


	19. Happy Holidays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided to write little snippets and behind the scenes for this story. These snippets will only be posted on tumblr. I have made a secondary blog, under still-always-dreaming titled Slice of Life, where I have already posted a few things. I am only doing this for ITAW since it is part of a series I will be writing. I hope you all enjoy and feel free to send in questions, comments, or even ideas! :)

“What are you all doing here?” Salem hissed, glancing over her shoulder to make sure her parents were still in the kitchen, before narrowing her amber eyes on the group in front of her.

_The Avengers_ looked ridiculous squished in her living room. Even more so with their happy and curious grins.

“You said that the holidays were meant to be with friends and family,” Natasha responded as she studied the pictures on the cream colored walls beside a grinning Barton.

Her bright green eyes lingering on the photo of Salem, three years old, covered in paint, with a Cheshire grin decorating paint a stained face.

Salem stared at her friend with a shocked expression.

“T-this isn’t what…that’s not…,” she spluttered out and waved her hands in front of her to help emphasize her point.

“Besides, everyone missed you,” Steve added from his spot on the couch, seated next to a smiling Thor, as he eyed the numerous paintings on the wall, before giving her an almost bashful smile.

“I was not about to spend _another_ Thanksgiving trying to educate these heathens on finer culture,” Tony said while cleaning his designer sunglasses, stuffing them in his beautifully tailored suit, and looking at her with mock irritation.

“Don’t you have, like, important people to eat with?” she asked as her arms flopped uselessly at her sides.

“My lady Jane had an important conference meeting and couldn’t join us and I would very much like to spend this festive time with my friends,” Thor said with a smile that had his electric blue eyes shining and Salem’s defenses faltering.

“I wanted to call ahead…,” Bruce chimed in shyly from his place squished between Steve and Thor and she could only offer a weary smile at the man.

She placed her hands on her slender hips, frowned at Clint as he cooed over another photo of her as a child, and rolled her eyes as Natasha shoved him out of the way to see the picture herself.

Salem hooked a pale curl behind her ear and studied the people in front of her.

Steve sat on the sofa, dressed in neatly pressed brown slacks, a crisp light blue button up, with his hair neatly combed. Banner was similarly dressed, in black slacks and yellow button up, but his sleeves were rolled to his elbows. Tony was clad in an impeccable suit, the nicest one that she has seen, and Thor was sporting dark jeans and a loose pale gray sweater that only drew attention to his broad and muscular frame.

Natasha was wearing a dark gray pencil skirt, dark red blouse, and sleek black stilettos with her auburn hair twisted into a stylish messy bun. Clint was dressed in jeans and a slightly rumpled dark purple button up with the first few buttons undone and his sleeves rolled up.

They looked nice and she watched as her Soulmate leaned against the couch beside Steve curiously.

Despite their clothing, she couldn’t help but to notice them acting a bit…different.

They were all sitting ramrod straight and weren’t bickering with each other.

Even Starks casual sprawl was toned down.

Natasha kept smoothing out her skirt, Thor was making sure to touch things very gingerly, and Bruce kept cleaning his glasses while shifting his feet underneath him.

Realization struck her and warmth bloomed in her chest.

They were nervous.

Her irritation melted and she let out a sigh.

Bucky winked at her from his spot leaning against the couch.

“Fine. You can stay,” she muttered before blushing at the bright beaming smiles she received.

Salem spotted Natasha trying to hid her pleased grin and Clint shot her two thumbs up.

As if on cue her mother came sweeping into the room carrying a tray filled with brightly colored mugs, Steve and Bucky both lunged to their feet to take the tray, and Salem smiled softly at their actions.

Her mom’s sparkling eyes and wide smile left little doubt for Salem that her mother was listening to their conversation.

Her father stumbled after his wife, still looking dazed, with his own bright orange mug clutched in his thin hands like a lifeline.

“Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long!” Mallory chirped happily. “It is so nice that you all came to visit Salem! Isn’t that right, sweetie?” she continued and the young blonde woman felt her face heat.

“Uh…,” she mumbled as she glanced down at her socks, suddenly feeling shy, and her father frowned at his Soulmate.

“What? It’s not like Salem has had this many people over before!” her mom whispered to her husband and Salem fought the urge to crawl back into her bed and stay there.

“Well, as her best friend, I felt like it would bring more cheer if we were to spend time together during the holidays,” Natasha said with a crooked smile as she cradled a lavender coffee cup in her hands.

Mallory’s smile somehow got even more warm at the redhead’s words.

“Of course!” she responded while clasping her hands together in front of her.

“I wanted to see where she lived,” Clint added, his voice muffled by a handful of cookies that he snatched from the tray and shoved in his mouth.

Salem smoothed a hand over her face with a sigh and Natasha shot him a withering glare before smacking him on the shoulder.

“Manners,” Bucky growled quietly, glaring at the archer as well, and Salem’s parents just blinked at the group.

“Besides,” Tony interrupted smoothly, “it’s boring without Bambi there.”

Salem felt warmth swell at her boss’s words and she gave him a small smile.

Mallory cooed, swatted at Simon distractingly when he didn’t say anything, and Stark shot a cocky smile at the Black Widow who had her bright green eyes narrowed on him.

The petite woman used her parent’s distraction to shuffle over to her Soulmate.

Bucky smiled at her as she shyly twined their hands together and she let the cold from his metal hand ground her.

She was immensely glad that he couldn’t feel how sweaty her palms were from nervousness.

“You know about this?” she murmured while glancing up a him through her lashes, her brow quirking in question, and her Soulmate chuckled.

“No idea, but I can’t say I’m too upset. They saved me from being interrogated by your parents,” he replied softly, his pale eyes twinkling, and he then winced when Steve elbowed him sharply in the side.

Salem frowned at the Captain, only to follow his baby blue eyes to her dad who was squinting at Barnes.

“Don’t think I forgot about you,” her dad grumbled and Bucky flushed guiltily.

“I hope you’re not too upset,” Steve said quietly, his bright blue eyes earnest, and Salem sighed before shaking her head.

“Just wish I had a heads-up,” she replied softly. The relieved look she received had her wanting to throw her arms around the Captain.

“We all did miss you, Salem,” Steve continued and the slender woman reached over to pat the man on his broad shoulders.

“I missed you all, too,” she responded with a warm smile, hoping to convey her honestly through her eyes.

She did miss them, something that dawned on her while staring blankly out the kitchen window a few days back home, and she felt Bucky’s fingers tighten around her own.

“How about a tour?” Clint suddenly asked, interrupting Tony and Natasha’s growing battle on who Salem’s favorite was, and gave a winning smile at the redhead beside him.

Thor clapped his hands happily, the sound reverberating like thunder, and smiled broadly.

“That is a wonderful suggestion!” he rumbled and Salem’s mother cooed in agreement.

“I want to see Salem’s room,” Natasha chided in, green eyes bright with curiosity, and Salem rolled her eyes despite the smile that began to curl her plump lips.

“Let’s get this over with,” Salem muttered while reluctantly untangling her hands from Bucky.

Natasha smiled at the petite blonde before they trudged up the stairs.

Distantly she heard the others wandering around while her mother spoke in excited tones.

“You could have just asked to come over,” Salem murmured to her friend and watched as the other woman brushed invisible lint from her skirt.

Opening the door to her room, she strolled in, and swept her arms out around her.

Instantly, Natasha went to the pictures on her bookshelf with a small pleased noise.

After a few moments of the redhead combing through her things, looking through her closet and bathroom as well, she sat on the bed beside Salem with a firm nod.

“Lovely place,” she said, running fingers idly over her pale pink blankets, and both were momentarily distracted by the sounds of excited barking and of Barton laughing loudly from the back yard.

“Thank you,” Salem responded while smoothing out her jeans.

“Your parents seem really sweet,” she continued and gave a crooked grin to the blonde beside her.

“Yeah, they’re great,” Salem agreed, tucking her legs underneath her body.

“So…how’s Barnes holding up?” Natasha asked curiously and a blush suddenly burned Salem’s cheeks as she fiddled with the collar of her shirt.

“It seems like your dad is still trying to figure him out,” she continued with a growing smile and Salem flicked her brown eyes heavenward.

“Yeah…it might take a few conversations before my dad grows comfortable enough with him,” she said and her friend hummed in agreement.

“I hope I didn’t upset you,” Romanoff suddenly blurted, causing the younger woman to nearly jump.

“What? Oh, no. I’m not upset, just surprised,” Salem said with a wave of her hand and her friend stared at her unflinchingly for a few seconds before slowing relaxing.

“Just hope your curiosity is sated,” Salem added and received a small grin.

“Yes,” was the simple answer.

“Wait…,” she corrected before swiftly yanking down Salem’s collar before grinning.

“Knew it!” Natasha chirped and Salem shoved her friend away with an embarrassed squeak.

“N-Natasha!” she admonished, her hands coming up to smooth her shirt back in place, and she received a toothy smile in response.

“Come on. You know better than to hide stuff from me,” the redhead said while wagging her finger and Salem glared halfheartedly at the older woman before standing up and moving to her dresser mirror to make sure everything was covered.

“I wasn’t hiding it from _you,_ I was hiding it from my parents,” she explained and felt her cheeks heat as she caught sight of the bruises littering her throat once more. “Either way it looks like you both enjoyed each other’s…company. Must admit that I didn’t think you had it in you,” the Widow said with a lecherous grin.

Before she could respond, soft knocking sounded on the open door, and both woman swung their head around to see Steve standing awkwardly in the doorway.

His handsome face was tinged pink and Salem groaned in mortification.

“Uh, just wanted to let you know that Tony is convincing your mom to let him remodel your kitchen and your dad won’t stop glaring at Bucky who is trying to wrestle Clint away from your dog,” he said, his bright blue eyes sparkling, and Salem let his words sink in before she scrambled out of her room.

She nearly tripped in her haste, only being caught by Steve’s hands on her arms as he followed her, and she rushed outside.

The slap of cold air knocked the air out of her lungs and she took in the scene in front of her.

Tony had his arm around her mother’s shoulders who was staring at him with twinkling eyes as they spoke and Banner was sitting on the chairs on the patio with a serene smile as he looked out at the back yard.

Thor and Barton were wrestling with Echo who was running around excitedly even as the two men began to fight over the animal’s attention.

Bucky was standing to the side, pale eyes watching the others warily, and steadfastly ignoring her father who was squinting at him suspiciously from his place beside his Soulmate.

Salem could feel a muscle twitch in her face.

“Oh! Just in time! I was just about to ask your friends if they would like to stay for Thanksgiving,” her mother called with a beaming smile and wave as she spotted the young woman in the doorway.

Salem watched as her father released a long sigh in response.


	20. Happiness in a Home

_"Family isn't always about the people in your life who are blood relations. It's about the people in your life who want you to be in theirs. It's about the people in your life who accept you for who you are, support you in the things you choose to do and no matter what, are there for you. It's the people in your life who love you, respect you and who you can depend on."_

* * *

"I say we take the mashed potatoes and go hide in my room," Salem muttered to Bucky as she watched her father and mother running around the warm kitchen with hands full of ingredients and dishes piled high with food.

Salem was in the doorway with Bucky at her side, both staring at the food spread out across the table and counters with slight awe, and the sounds of her parents bickering lightly at each other drifted over to the couple.

"Sounds good to me, doll," Barnes replied softly and she could feel a smile twitch the corners of her lips at his response.

A few days after the arrival of _The Avengers_ , with them visiting from some ungodly hour in the morning to late at night when Salem finally kicked them out, had Salem's parents finishing the cooking for their Thanksgiving dinner.

Bruce had compiled a list of how much food would be needed to accommodate two super soldiers and a thunder God, a number that had Salem's father gaping like a fish out of water, but Tony had people in sharp suits delivering fresh high-quality food in the days leading up to the holiday.

It was early in the morning, Salem and her family had continued cooking, and it wasn't long before Bucky showed up to hesitantly offer his help.

Of course, her Soulmate looked amazing in dark jeans and a dark blue long sleeve shirt while Salem was in baggy jeans, hair thrown into a small messy ponytail, and a loose simple faded yellow t-shirt that was threadbare from its many years of use.

However, any embarrassment disappeared at the soft look in Bucky's pale eyes whenever he looked at her.

Salem watched for a few more moments, smiling at her parent's antics, before turning to her Soulmate who was watching the scene with faint amusement.

"So how crazy do you think tonight will be?" she asked and received a quirked eyebrow in response as he glanced down at her.

"Well, last I heard, Natasha was threatening anybody who even thought of ruining the dinner," he drawled and Salem felt a sigh escape her as she shoved her glasses back into place, feeling her stomach beginning to twist into knots.

"Don't worry. I'm sure everything will be fine," he continued as he gingerly tangled their fingers together and she drummed her slender fingers against his.

"I…I just hope that everyone's expectations are filled," she murmured with a small shrug.

She shifted until she was out of the doorway and leaned against the wall, feeling just a little bit awkward holding hands with Bucky with her parents only a few steps away.

Bucky moved until he was propped up on the wall beside her without much hesitation, close to her side instead of crowding her front, and she dimly wondered if he did that on purpose.

Since that first night when he snuck into her bedroom, he hasn't even stepped a foot back into her room, and he seemed almost shy with his affection.

"I think they will be beyond happy. Especially since they expected to be kicked out when they first arrived," he pointed out, a smile tugging at his plush lips, and she felt an answering smile bloom across her face.

Salem glanced down at their intertwined hands and she nervously nibbled on her lower lip as she gathered some courage.

"What about you?" she murmured quietly.

Cool fingertips suddenly brushed against her cheek causing her to glance up and she watched as Bucky's pale eyes drifted over her face. Metal fingers traced her freckled cheeks before drifting to her jaw.

His blue eyes dropped to her throat, to the fading hickeys that Salem had covered with some concealer that Natasha secretly passed her with a wink, and for a second she wondered if he was going to kiss her again when his eyes darkened.

"Spending any amount of time with you makes me beyond happy," he whispered lowly, eyes now darting to her collarbones where his name was covered by the thin fabric of her shirt, before looking back up at her with a small heartwarming smile.

The blonde could just blink at him stupidly.

"Would you mind helping me with something?" Mallory suddenly chirped beside them.

Salem jumped and nearly headbutted her Soulmate, who jerked back quickly, and she dimly wondered when they had gotten so close.

Her mother stood next to them as she wiped her hands on a washcloth, bright blue eyes twinkling before she glanced over at a guilty looking Barnes.

"I'm afraid that I am a bit too short," she continued and Salem fought the urge to hide her no doubt beet red face.

"I-I'm going to check on Echo," she stuttered before stumbling quickly to the back door while listening to Bucky's voice drift from the kitchen followed by clanging of pans.

Once outside, the cold air instantly fogged her glasses and chilled her face, and she wiggled her toes inside dark blue fuzzy socks. She had taken three steps onto the back porch before a large gray blur nearly tackled her.

"Hey there, buddy," she cooed as she squatted to scratch behind her excited pet's ears. His tail was wagging fiercely and his tongue lolled out of his mouth, his gray eyes trained on her face while he pawed at her happily.

Salem spent a few more minutes petting her dog who soaked up the attention and spent a few more moments throwing his toys out in the yard for him to chase before the cold became too much and she slipped back into the warmth of the house.

She rubbed at her frozen fingers as she slowly wandered back into the kitchen, only to freeze at the sight before her.

Her father was rambling on about recipes as he stirred into a large pot on the stove as Bucky stood next to him, listening intently, as he chopped vegetables with startling finesse while wearing a bright yellow apron around his waist. Her mother was icing a large strawberry cake, a wide smile on her face, as her blue eyes flickered to the two men occasionally.

"You might want to get the door, Salem," Bucky suddenly said as he lowered the knife and looked over at Salem with a crooked smile, "they just pulled up."

Salem parents looked between them in confusion before a sudden knock on the door had their eyes widening in surprise.

"Brace yourselves," she muttered as she shuffled past them to the front door where she could hear faint bickering.

Shaking her head in amusement, Salem threw open the door after taking a fortifying breath and nearly burst out laughing at the scene in front of her.

Natasha nearly had Clint in a headlock as she attempted to smooth out his hair, Steve was glaring at Tony who was elbowing his way past him where they were squished on the porch, and Thor was poking at the glass wind chime by the door curiously while Bruce stared at him warily.

"Howdy," she managed to snort out and they all looked at her in embarrassment.

"Something smells fantastic," Barton said loudly, breaking the silence, as he tried to look around Thor's bulky frame.

She rolled her eyes and stepped to the side and swept her arm out.

"Come on in," she offered and watched as they shuffled in while murmuring lowly to themselves as they put their coats into the closet by the front door.

Steve smiled warmly at her, Tony winked, and Thor wrapped his muscular arms around her in a tight, yet gentle hug.

Returning the hug with only faint surprise, Salem couldn't help but grin when he beamed at her in response, and they both joined the others in the dining room.

Salem wandered over to her mother who was standing next to Natasha.

"We brought pie," the redhead had blurted out, holding out three pie boxes that she was clutching tightly, and Salem was surprised to see the Avenger looking nervous.

"Oh! That is so sweet of you, dear!" her mother cooed as she took the boxes with a warm smile.

Natasha's expression relaxed slightly before she blinked in surprise when Mallory pulled her into a hug.

When she left, Salem stepped beside her shocked friend and nudged her gently with her elbow, and smiled when bright green eyes met her amber ones.

"She's a hugger…and no need to be all tense. You are almost as bad as Bucky when he's with my dad," she teased and the Widow's lips twitched into a grin as she smoothed out her pants.

"Just want to make sure that…I'm making a good impression," she responded somewhat awkwardly and Salem was struck with the thought that she was probably Natasha first best friend that wasn't an agent.

Salem studied the woman as she scowled at Barton who was clearly restraining himself from eating the food on the table.

Her auburn hair was let loose and was curled around her heart shaped face and her arched brows were furrowed as she turned her scowl to Thor who was inching close to the table. Her curvy figure was clad in a powder pink sheer top with a matching pink tank top underneath, deep brown slacks, and pink suede pumps.

All the Avengers were dressed nicely, she thought when she glanced around the room and was hit by a sense of déjà vu.

They were once again on their best behavior and dressed up.

Tony was wearing another expensive suit, with a sleek gray jacket and a maroon shirt underneath, and he was smiling charmingly at Salem's mother as she thanked him for the food he sent. Thor was dressed in another thin sweater, a dark teal color, and light wash jeans while eyeing the food spread out appreciably. Barton had an actual wrinkle free dark green button up and jeans and was helping Salem's father make room for more food on the already cluttered counter. Bruce wore a yellow button up and black slacks and he was standing next to Steve who was dressed in a pale powder blue sweater with dark jeans slacks.

Salem felt a little underdressed and was only comforted by the sight of her mother wearing bright lavender yoga pants with a long simple white t-shirt that was surely stolen from her father.

Even her dad was wearing worn jeans with a gray t-shirt.

"Everything looks wonderful," Steve said, making her jump as he appeared beside her, and he offered an apologetic smile when she glared half-heartedly at him.

"Well, I hope everyone likes it," she said, watching Bucky glare at Clint who was clearly fighting back laughter when he showed up still wearing the apron, but the sight of her mother waving her into the kitchen frantically caught her attention.

The young woman excused herself before making her way into the now stifling kitchen.

"I'm sorry to drag you from your friends, but I have a huge favor," Mallory explained, a frown marring her features, and Salem just smiled at her mom.

"What do you need?" she asked and received a bashful grin.

"We forgot a few things and I need you to pop by the store before we start eating," she said while handing over a small list. Quickly scanning the items, Salem nodded before shoving the paper into her pocket.

"Okay, I'll be back shortly," she chirped and giggled as her mom squished her cheeks and kissed her forehead in thanks.

She left the kitchen and quickly spotted Bucky and Steve talking quietly in the corner.

Feeling a little awkward, she lingered a few steps away from them until she could get their attention, and received a look of amusement from both men when they looked over at her almost immediately when she approached.

"Hey, I need to run to the store for something," she began and Bucky frowned while reaching behind him to take off the apron, but she quickly shook her head.

"I want you to stay to make sure I will actually have a house to come back to," she added and tried not to smile as his frown deepened.

"I can go. I don't mind," he protested just as the sound of her father calling Bucky's name drifted over to them.

"You stay and keep earning brownie points with my dad," she said with a small smile when he flushed and Steve piped up from where he was watching the exchange silently.

"I'll go with you?" the blond man offered and the relief on Barnes' face had Salem agreeing.

"Of course, if you are willing to ride on my bike," Steve continued and Salem hesitated and before she could stop it, a wide grin was spreading across her face.

"I never rode a motorcycle before," she gushed and Bucky suddenly looked a little pale.

"Let's go then," Steve chirped happily and Salem quickly rushed to the front door to tug on her shoes in excitement.

Bucky followed and, while Steve was tugging on a brown leather jacket, Barnes eyed his friend.

"Please tell me that you have a helmet with you," he said with narrowed eyes and the blond man rolled his eyes.

"Yes, and no need for that face. I promise she'll be well protected," Steve said and Salem felt warmth bloomed in her chest at his words.

Unbidden, a memory of rapid gunfire and a hand gripping her arm painfully forced itself past her happy mood, and she couldn't help the sharp intake of breath as a small surge of fear crushed any joy she was feeling.

' _He is capable of keeping me safe,'_ she thought while hiding her grimace as she pulled on a thick bright blue coat from the small closet beside the door.

A cold hand tugged on hers and she was surprised to turn around and see that Steve had already ducked outside, leaving them alone, and Bucky was looking at her intently.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly and she flushed while looking away from his pale eyes.

"Yeah, just want to hurry up and get back," she replied with a tight smile and he didn't look convinced.

"I trust Steve with my life and he has already proved himself trustworthy of protecting yours," he began quietly and she couldn't help the wince at the memory his words brought forth, "so don't be afraid of anything when you're with him," he finished as he hooked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Salem chewed on her bottom lip, questions suddenly popped in her head, but she forced them away before looking down at the metal hand in hers.

She blinked when she realized that she was nervously running her thumb over his metal fingers.

"Also, you are not going out like that," he suddenly said, bringing Salem out of her thoughts, and watched in embarrassed amusement as Bucky quickly zipped up her jacket for her.

He looked into the small closet and rustled around until he pulled out a deep brown scarf that Salem was pretty sure belonged Natasha and a cream-colored pair of gloves that belonged to her mother.

She was quiet as he wrapped the scarf around her and tugged the gloves on her hands before he linked their hands together once more.

Satisfied with his handiwork, he led her outside where Steve was already perched on what Salem guessed as a Harley motorcycle with a black helmet in his lap.

Bucky stopped once they walked off the porch and he pulled her into his arm and placed a swift kiss on the top of her head.

"Hurry back," he murmured before pressing a chaste kiss to her lips and shooting Steve a look as he slipped back inside the house.

A puff of fog left her as she sighed before she turned and shuffled over to Steve.

The man smiled and handed her the helmet, seemingly unaffected by the cold, and Salem fumbled with the clasp of the helmet for a few minutes before she finally had it secured.

After giving him directions to the store, and blushing hotly when it took her a few moments to scramble onto the motorcycle, Steve grabbed her hands when she rested them hesitantly on his sides.

"Hold tight around me. Bucky would not be happy if you fell off," he said with a chuckle and the oppressive feeling that had suddenly weighed down on her, lifted at the sound of his obvious amusement.

She adjusted her grip, squeezing her arms tight around him, and could feel a grin bloom across her face when he started the bike.

The loud growl and sudden vibrations had a giggle trying to escape.

Soon they were speeding down the road and Salem couldn't stop smiling as cold wind whipped across her quickly numbing face.

Watching as the scenery passed by them in a blur, Salem tightened her grip even more on the super soldier in front of her, and she was immensely glad that Bucky made her wear more layers as the freezing wind had her eyes watering.

Steve's body heat seeped through her jacket and she ducked her face to hide between his shoulder blades to protect her from the cold.

Also, she was starting to feel a little woozy as he took a sharp turn that had her stomach clinging to her kidneys.

Before long they were pulling into the supermarket and, while Steve tried to find a spot to park, she was trying to get her stiff fingers to unhook from around the man.

He shut the bike off after finding a spot and she swore she could still feel the vibrations running up her legs. She was mortified when the soldier had to help her off the bike.

His bright blue eyes were sparkling and he was positively beaming down at her as he helped unhook the helmet.

She couldn't help but laugh at his expression.

"You have to convince Bucky to get one of those," she said as they wandered into the slightly crowded store and Rogers laughed as he steered her through the crowd with warm hands on her shoulders.

"I can try, but you might have more like than me. He only barely tolerates me riding it," he said with a chuckle, "guess he still feels like he needs to watch over me."

At his words, Salem glanced over her shoulder and gave him a warm smile.

"I think it's nice that he looks after you still," she confessed and Steve ruffled her hair affectionately.

Despite the many people roaming around, they quickly went through the items on the list, Steve's tall height and broad frame making it easy for him to reach past gawking people.

They were in a more secluded part of the store looking for peanut butter that seemed to have disappeared from the shelves when she noticed that Steve wasn't shadowing her.

Her amber eyes scanned around her until she spotted him standing stock still in front of a small shelf full of stuffed animals.

The elusive peanut butter now forgotten, she walked over to him and peeked around him to see what had gotten his attention.

His long fingers were gently touching a, frankly, adorable overstuffed duck and an odd looked was on his handsome face.

His sapphire blue eyes were distant, but filled with longing, and Salem looked between him and the bright yellow stuffed animal with confusion.

Then, a memory floated to the forefront of her brain and realization struck her.

She remembered glancing at a picture in Steve's sketchbook when she went to talk with Bucky after she found out about the Winter Soldier.

A sketch of a woman pointing out ducks to the happy looking child balanced on her hip.

Salem looked at the stuffed animal and felt her suspicions rise as pieces began clicking together.

"She likes ducks?" she asked quietly, keeping her brown eyes locked onto the kid's toys in front of her, and she could feel his gaze bore into her as he snapped out of whatever trance he was in.

"You don't have to tell me," she continued in the same soft tone as the silence between them stretched, the people around them seeming to disappear, and Steve released a soft sigh after a few seconds.

"Yeah…it's favorite animal," he murmured softly and Salem could tell that she was on thin ice and any second Steve could shut the conversation down.

"She…they go to the park to see them," he continued roughly and Salem looked over at him.

He looked like he was in pain, his handsome face was pinched and lips thinned into a tight line, and Salem looked back at the shelf.

"You can get it...if you want?" Salem asked and watched as he seemed to internally debate with himself.

He dropped his hand and tucked his trembling fingers into his pocket.

"Better if I don't," he whispered, more to himself than to the woman next to him, and the woman tucked a stray curl behind her ear as she watched his gaze linger on the stuffed animal.

"I had resigned myself to the idea of never being with my Soulmate," she began slowly, swallowing past the well of motion that threatened to clog her throat, "I was expecting to be alone."

She plucked at a stand of cloth attached to her jacket, feeling suddenly vulnerable, and she shrugged her shoulders awkwardly.

"Now…I realize just how unhappy I was. Even after the short time that I've known Bucky, I don't like to think about myself without him," she admitted.

"Trust me, if it was up to me…but, it's not and I have to think of the bigger picture," Steve said tightly and Salem could tell that he was done with subject.

Feeling sorrow for the man, someone who has tried his hardest to keep Salem safe and his friends happy, that he couldn't be with the people that he so desperately wanted to be with.

"Okay," she murmured, watching as his broad shoulders slumped in relief, and before she could think about she reached out and snatched the toy off the shelf.

"Then I'll get it for you," she chirped and quickly made her way back down the aisle to finish the list.

Salem hid her smile when Steve shook his head at her in bewilderment.

They were stepping out of the store a few minutes later, a small plastic bag in Salem's hand, and she took a deep breath of the cool air.

The sky was darkening and she took another deep breath as they walked across the parking lot to where Steve parked in the crowded parking lot.

Steve threw his leg over the bike and Salem once again fumbled with the straps of the helmet before stuffing the small bag inside her coat and scrambling onto the motorcycle.

"All set?" Steve asked while she anchored her arms back around his mid-section and she nodded her head where it was rested back between his shoulder blades.

"Ready, Captain," she replied and could feel his chuckle more than she heard it.

Then the bike started with a low growl and they were speeding back to her home.

As cold wind whipped across her, she found herself smiling, and she closed her eyes and let her mind drift to the people waiting for back home.

Her brain lingered on her soldier.

Despite their rocky beginning, how opposite they were from each other, and how they've only known each other for a few months, Salem felt like she finally found her knight in shining armor.

' _Well, some of him is shiny,'_ she thought with a giggle.

Soon enough, they were pulling back into her home's driveway, and Steve just smiled at her when he had to help her off the motorcycle again. She freed the bag from her coat and they strolled towards the house.

Before the blond man could step onto the front porch, Salem hesitantly reached out and grasped his arm.

She reached into the bag and grabbed the soft plush duck before holding it out to the man.

Steve hesitated, his bright blue eyes conveying his inner struggle, but she waited patiently.

It was a decision that he had to make on his own and she was smart enough to know what the stuffed toy meant to him.

After what seemed like an eternity later, he reached out and gingerly grasped the bright stuffed animal, and cradled it to his chest like it was made of gold.

He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Thank you, Salem," he whispered roughly and she smiled up at him before reaching up on her toes, tugging him down by his broad shoulders, and pressed a kiss to his smooth cheek.

"Anyone would be lucky to have you," she told him earnestly and received a crooked smile that had her beaming.

"Come in when you're ready," she said with a pat on his arm before trudging into the house.

Immediately warmth wrapped around her along with happy, excited chatter and the mouthwatering smells of food.

She placed her coat back into the closet, returning the scarf and gloves, before wandering her way into the dining room to see Tony and Bruce talking while seated at the table, Thor laughing at something Barton said.

Natasha was standing near the archer, smiling at him, and gave a small wave once she spotted Salem.

"Bucky is holding your parent's hostage in the kitchen," she said once the younger woman was in ear shot and Salem blinked in surprise before poking her head around the corner to peer into the kitchen.

Bucky was standing in front of her parents, sadly missing the apron, and his handsome face was etched in determination.

His winter blue eyes were intense and his muscular frame was rigid.

Her father's narrow face was filled with surprise and his amber eyes had hints of pride and respect shining through.

Her mother was smiling widely, trying to hide it behind her hand, and her misty eyes were filled with warmth and love.

Salem frowned at the scene and was about to step forward, but then her mother threw her slender arms around the man in a hug.

Bucky blinked in shock, looked over at Simon who nodded, and then his expression turned to one of relief as he awkwardly returned the hug.

Once he was released, her father stuck out his hand and once Bucky had his hand in his, muttered something quietly.

Barnes nodded fiercely and said something in an equally quiet voice.

Clearly happy with whatever was said, her father nodded again, and then bother parents started to exit the room while Bucky dragged his metal hand through the long dark hair.

The young woman frowned at her parents in question, but just had them both kiss her cheek as they passed her, and Salem cautiously stepped into the kitchen.

She set the bag on an empty space she found and approached her Soulmate.

"Um, was I gone that long?" she asked and Bucky turned to face her before smiling.

She wasn't expecting him to reach out, grab her hand in his left, and tug her flush against him.

Heat filled her cheeks and her blush darkened when he leaned down to brush his lips against hers.

"Long enough for me to threaten Barton and for your mother to take a picture of me in an apron," he replied and she couldn't help but to smile.

"Even though I think you look rather cute in that apron," she began and quickly grew flustered when he quirked an eyebrow, "I-I mean…what happened with my parents?" she finished with her gaze locked on the thin chain of his tags that peaked from under the collar of his blue shirt.

Bucky actually flushed, his high cheekbones turning a soft shade of pink before he reached out with his free hand to smooth her hair from her face.

"I just told them how I felt about you and asked for their permission and blessing to continue with our relationship," he stated simply as if Salem's heart wasn't doing summersaults in her chest with each word he said, and she curled her hand tighter around the metal fingers in her hand.

"Y-You asked my parent's permission to…date me?" she asked, her face growing warm as her heart seemed to swell in her chest, and he hummed in response.

"I would have done it sooner, but I will admit that despite living through a war and countless battles, that I was terrified to approach them," he whispered and Salem was sure her heart nearly gave out.

"Seems kind of old-fashioned," she said before closing her eyes with a wince at his look of amusement.

"Well, doll. I like to think of myself as old-fashioned," he teased while bumping his nose against hers, "kind of how I grew up."

The slender woman giggled when he peppered kisses over her freckles and she finally looked back up at him.

"Is that why you've been…distant lately?" she asked faintly, her slim fingers now plucking awkwardly at his shirt, and his warm hand drifted across her face before settling at the base of her neck while his thumb brushed against her jaw.

"A little…and also because I was a little…embarrassed…after that first night," he admitted with a sigh and immediately mortification swept through her.

' _New I was making a fool out of myself,'_ she thought with growing horror and she suddenly wanted to crawl under the nearest rock.

Salem tried to take a few steps back, but a strong arm around her slender waist kept her flush against her Soulmate.

"I don't like that look on your face," he grumbled before placing a tender kiss at her temple and she nibbled on her bottom lip in worry.

"I will go ahead and say that nothing was your fault," he began and she dragged her amber eyes up to hesitantly met his pale eyes, "I just think that I could've taken things a bit slower…been a bit gentler."

At his words, and his guilty expression, she could only stare at him stupidly.

' _If we moved any slower in this relationship then I'm pretty sure I would just spontaneously combust,'_ she thought silently to herself before pinning him with a stern look.

"James Buchanan Barnes, I have had a crush on you since I was a teenager," she admitted and ignored the heat filling her cheeks when his eyes widened at her admission, "I was, am, happy with your visit and if I wasn't then I would tell you."

Giving her a mental pat on the back for not stumbling over her words, she watched as he digested her words before his eyes glittered with mischief.

"You've had a crush on me?" he purred, a rather wicked smile curling his full lips, and she tried to keep the stern look on her face.

"R-Really? That's the part you pay attention too?" she griped and she felt her blush beginning to spread when he brushed his lips against hers again and hummed.

"I listened. I just like hearing that my best girl had her eyes on me only," he murmured and Salem found that her legs had suddenly turned to jelly and she was only being supported by the man in front of her.

"Really liked hearing that," Bucky murmured and Salem turned her face when he tried to kiss her.

"And I really like to not have this conversation with my parents in the next room with all the _Avengers_ ," she whispered and felt him smile against her cheek before he pulled back to a more respectable distance.

"I promise that I am quite happy and if anything changes, you will be the first to know," Salem bargained and Bucky nodded, his face turning from teasing to serious in the span of a heartbeat.

"Deal," he responded before lifting her hand that was still twined with his left and brushed his lips across her knuckles.

"Ready to eat?" Salem said as she stepped back, tugging his hand gently in the direction of the dining room, and he smiled at her.

They walked into the dining room where everyone was still chatting happily, now with Steve talking with Thor, and her mother shot her an impish grin from where she was standing next to Natasha.

"Everybody ready to eat?" the older woman chirped and was met by cheers as Bucky and Salem sat in chairs next to each other.

Nat slid into the seat next to Salem with a smile as everybody sat around the table.

"Have to say, I'm glad you guys showed up," Salem suddenly said to the group crowded around her.

The beaming smiles she received had her glancing down shyly.

"I think I agree, dear," her mother added from her spot near the middle of the table next to her own Soulmate.

Salem grinned, felt Natasha nudge her shoulder playfully, and looked over at her Soulmate who winked at her.

A few seconds later, the talking started up again as food was passed around, and she couldn't help but feel swell of warmth in her chest as she soaked up the happiness that seemed to seep from everyone in the room.

Surrounded by her family, and the ones she was beginning to think of as family, Salem tried to think of a word to describe the joyous feeling and smiled as one popped into her head when she looked around the room at the beaming smiles.

' _Perfect…it's perfect.'_

 


	21. Instinct

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being patient with me! You all are amazing!

' _She was tumbling through the air, white and gray flashing in front of her eyes, as cold seeped all the way to her bones. The wind howled like some unholy beast around her, her ears popping as she plummeted downwards from some great height. The sounds of screaming reached her ears over the roaring of the wind and the blood rushing in her ears._

_Her throat was raw as she screamed in fear. Reaching out she hoped to grip something, anything, to slow down her fall._

_Suddenly pain ripped through her and white-hot agony washed through her, pain that she didn't even know she could feel stole any breath that she had managed to drag into her lungs._

_The thin air stung her throat as she continued to fall and black laced across her vision as one thought crossed her panicked mind._

_This was the end…'_

"Are you listening, Salem?" a voice asked, breaking through whatever daze she was in, and she snapped her head up while blinking rapidly.

Salem was surrounded by rushing people and loud sounds of chatter filled her ears.

Sam Wilson stood next to her in a clothing aisle and he was frowning at her from his spot looking at a rack of bright Christmas sweaters.

She swore she could still feel the chilling wind and the smell of pines and cold still tingled her nose.

The pain had felt so real.

"Uh, sorry. I was thinking," she murmured and rubbed a hand over her sternum as the aftereffects of her dream from last night still thrummed through her.

Sam laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, his handsome face kind, and his warm brown eyes worried.

Dressed in dark jeans and a soft light green sweater, Sam looked the picture of casual, except with the bright red Santa hat placed on his head.

His black leather jacket was slung under one arm as he flipped through the rack.

Salem pushed up her glasses and tried to offer a reassuring smile.

His frown deepened and she let her gaze drift to the shopping cart by her side.

"Just lost in thought," she murmured.

He looked around at the other people milling around before shuffling closer to her in an attempt at privacy.

Salem repressed her sigh as Sam's deep brown eyes shined with concern.

"You look pale," he commented with a frown marring his handsome features and she swallowed past the lump in her throat.

Ever since waking from that horrible nightmare Salem couldn't shake a feeling of dread that weighed down on her, and as the day wore on, she grew increasingly troubled.

The petite woman looked over at the Avenger before lowering her amber eyes to a pale pink silky-soft thin sweater she was standing in front of.

"I…I just miss Bucky," she eventually blurted out.

It wasn't far from the truth, she missed her Soulmate terribly, and she felt his absence even more since her troubling dream.

A week after an amazing Thanksgiving and another week spent back at the Avenger's Tower playing in the snow that she was definitely not used to, she decided to get some Christmas shopping done with the Falcon in tow.

Since he spent the last holiday with his family, he happily agreed to accompany Salem even as she dragged him all over the city.

Besides, Bucky had made sure that whenever she would leave the safety of the tower, there would be someone with her and Sam made it clear that he did not want to face an upset Bucky Barnes.

"Well, they should be home any day now," Wilson said with a comforting smile.

Salem took a deep breath as she recalled her Soulmate leaving for a mission, then a few day later Steve and Natasha being called out to join her soldier.

' _Just a little more complicated than we expected,'_ Natasha had explained over a static-filled phone call before all contact was shut down.

The blonde pushed her glasses back in place, her slender hands dwarfed by a red and gold jacket and stared down at her smudged sneakers.

The jacket was a few sizes too big, but she didn't have the heart to tell Tony when he presented it to her with a wide grin, and she lightly traced the Iron Man helmet emblem that was stitched onto the front pocket as she tried to string together a sentence that explained what she was feeling.

"I can't help but to feel that something is wrong," she blurted, now picking at a loose thread on her jeans, and felt Sam's hand tighten on her shoulder.

"It's normal to feel worried about him, but if I have learned one thing about that man, it's that he is quite resilient," he said with a kind smile filled with warmth and Salem stared at him closely.

His twinkling eyes were encouraging and his demeanor relaxed.

She let the tension ease out of her shoulders slightly and Sam grinned when she returned his smile.

"Now come on, we need to get into line while it's still short!" he chirped.

Salem quickly added the silky pink shirt to her pile of items in her small shopping cart before they began their trek to the counters.

"You would assume being a member of the _'Avengers'_ would let you go to the front," Sam muttered, eyeing the long winding line of people in front of them and the young woman couldn't help but giggle at his forlorn expression.

"Maybe you should go fly around the block, get everyone distracted?" she suggested while leaning against her cart to relieve the pressure on her aching feet as they waited.

Wilson rolled his eyes at her before getting distracted by a display case showing off bright Christmas decorations.

The blonde woman took a deep breath as the sounds of shrieking laughter, shouts, and quick conversation washed over her.

The heat from the store, from the bodies squished together, had her squirming in vague discomfort while the line slowly crept forward.

Salem felt her mind begin to wonder once more.

Since she was alone the last few days, with Castiel visiting family and her Avenger friends on a mission with her Soulmate, she was left to her own devices.

She was caught up on paperwork, spent time watching movies with Clint, and even managed to get a few sketches done while keeping Tony company in his lab. Even still, she was growing more restless.

It didn't help the increasingly hollow feeling in her stomach.

Someone bumped sharply into her back, jerking her from her inner musings, and sighed in relief when she saw they were next in line.

"I'll make us dinner when we get home if you want," Sam offered, finally pulled from playing with the knickknacks on the display counters, and Salem felt herself smile.

"You don't have to," she said and her smile bloomed into a grin when the man threw his arms over her slender shoulders.

"It's no problem. You get fed and I'll finally be able to watch a Christmas movie with a sane person," he responded and she laughed at his words.

"Aha! The truth comes out!" she teased, nudging him with her elbow and he chuckled at her.

The exhausted cashier signaled them and they both shuffled to the counter to pay for their things. It was when they were leaving that the young woman felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Feeling a surge of excitement fill her, she fumbled with her bags to reach her phone.

"I'll get the car," Sam said with a grin, taking Salem's bags from her hands, before disappearing out the door as people continued to rush in.

The woman finally managed to free her phone as she stepped aside to avoid being squished and she felt her smile morph into a confused frown at the number on the screen. She debated a moment while staring at the familiar number, before sighing and stepping outside while answering.

The slap of cold air was just as unnerving as the voice on the phone.

"Salam Sterling! I was beginning to worry I had the wrong number!" Dr. Fitzgerald chirped into her ear.

"Doctor," Salem replied with a small cringe, immediately regretting answering, and she tucked her free hand into her pocket to try and ward off the cold.

"It's been a while! How have you been? Are you settling in alright?" he asked and she looked at the passing cars, wishing Sam would hurry, and hummed in an answer.

"I've been doing good, work has kept me busy," she replied while shifting on her feet.

She soon felt her curiosity grow as a few seconds of silence stretched between them.

"Was there something I could help you with?" she asked slowly and grimaced when he chuckled.

"Well, I was in the city on business and I remembered that you moved here," he explained and she rolled her eyes at the mock hurt in his voice.

She remembered him being very displeased that she was leaving. She perked up when she saw the familiar sleek car Sam was driving pull around the corner.

"I do miss your company and was thinking that we should meet up?" he asked and she blinked in surprise.

"Meet up?" she repeated with a frown.

Sam pulled up in front of her and she was suddenly filled with awkwardness.

"Um…sure. I have to go…talk to you later," she said quickly, barely listening to his response before she ended the call.

Salem shoved her phone into her pocket and scrambled into the waiting car. The heater was on full blast and she shivered while buckling her seatbelt.

"Who was that?" the Avenger asked curiously as they began the ride home and Salem felt her cheeks heat.

' _No way I'm discussing my weird ex-boss with Sam…'_ she thought and felt the beginning threads of guilt curl around her stomach which twisted uncomfortably.

"Salem?" Sam asked glancing over at her with worry, warm brown eyes once again concerned, and she tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

"Wrong number," she said with a smile that she hoped was innocent.

Her friend looked at her for a few seconds, the lights from the dashboard reflecting in his dark eyes that were a little too thoughtful for comfort.

"Oh," he said and she forced herself not to shift uncomfortably in the bucket seat she was in.

"I think I'm just going to eat a small dinner and go to bed early tonight…raincheck for the dinner and movie?" she murmured and received a concerned once-over.

"Sure, but I'll be picking the movie," he warned and she smiled at him before sinking into her seat to stare out the window.

The darkening sky was lit with glowing buildings, Christmas lights curled around lampposts and storefronts, and bright headlights flashed over her face as they drove. Snow began to fall softly and she watched the busy bustle of people wandering the snow-frosted streets as her mind drifted.

"You know," Sam started as the towering building of her home came into view, "you can talk to me about anything."

Salem frowned and turned to look at him curiously.

Her friend kept his gaze ahead.

"We haven't had a lot of time to talk…and you never talked to anyone about what happened at the diner," he said softly and the young woman could feel herself go rigid as she glanced away from the man beside her.

"I'm fine, Sam," she answered and received a sigh in response.

"I read the police files and seen the pictures…seen what you were like afterward," he said and Salem didn't realize she was trembling until she looked down at her interlocked hands.

"What brought this on?" she asked with a strained laugh and Sam finally looked over at her.

"I've spent a lot of time talking to people, listening to them, and I know when someone is stretching themselves thin in order to appear fine," he said and she couldn't stop the wince.

"Sam…," she began in a shaky voice but found the words stuck in her throat.

The silence that followed was terrible.

"I just want you to know that I am your friend and I am here for you," he said and they fell into silence when she couldn't think of anything to say.

Soon, though, they were pulling into the Tower and she felt exhaustion sweep over her.

Salem declined Sam's offer to walk her to her room and she trudged into the elevator with her arms full of bags. Her amber eyes lingered on her distorted reflection as the elevator hummed quietly. Her pale hair was in disarray around her pale face and her lips pressed into a thin line, and she closed her eyes with a deep sigh.

' _What a day,'_ she thought dimly as the elevator stopped at her floor.

She shuffled to her kitchen and stopped when she saw a bright purple sticky note on her fridge.

' _Echo wanted to keep me company in the gym_

_-C'_

It read and she felt her lips twitch into a smile at Barton's messy scrawl.

She shuffled to her room and took a deep breath in relief as she put her things down on her bed.

Salem paused for a moment before putting away her shopping bags and changing into a pair of light gray sweatpants and a maroon colored camisole.

After tugging on a pair of bright yellow fuzzy socks she shuffled back to the kitchen and stood in front of her open refrigerator for a few minutes. Nothing looked appealing, so she grabbed a small container of sliced fruit. As she nibbled on her dinner, she curled up on the couch to look over some files, then looked over more house listings sent to her by Pepper.

Salem found it hard to concentrate, her brain not wanting to focus, and she decided to call it a night.

' _Maybe I'll feel better in the morning,'_ she mused to herself while shuffling into her bedroom while sending a quick text to Barton, sliding her glasses onto her bedside table and then crawling under her blankets.

Exhaustion weighed on her limbs and she released a deep sigh while sinking into her pillows while letting her eyes slide shut.

A loud _'bang!'_ had her eyes snapping open as she shot upright in her bed.

Sweat beaded her brow and made her clothes stick to her body as she looked around in confusion. Her heart was rapidly beating in her chest and she couldn't seem to draw in a deep enough breath as she panted. A glance at her clock had her scrubbing a trembling hand over her face. It had only been two hours since she first laid down and her brain was still trying to push past her grogginess and a faint sense of confusion from waking up suddenly.

Then, without warning, a surge of nausea swept through and her chest tightened almost painfully as a sense of doom filled her.

' _Something is wrong with Bucky,'_ was her immediate thought.

A quick and loud knock sounded on her door once more and she attempted to scramble off her bed. Shoving her glasses on her face, her head swimming with the feeling of foreboding, and she made it to the door before the next knocks could land. Salem swung open the door and regarded the creepily blank face of Natasha standing at the threshold, still clad in her leather uniform, and covered in dirt and bruises.

"Where is he?" she managed to gasp out, a faint tremble starting in her shoulders as her friend remained silent.

"There was a…incident…," the redhead started and despite her calm tone, Salem could see the strain around her eyes. Salem shook her head and stepped forward.

"Nat…where is he?" she asked again.

Her voice shook and she had to grab onto the door to steady herself. The Widow was silent for a few seconds, her bright green eyes scanning her face before she gave a clipped nod and began walking to the elevator.

"He is in the infirmary. I'll take you there, but you can't see him just- wait!" Natasha yelled as Salem bolted past her and darted to the stairs.

Her socks helped her slide easily against the tile, even as she slipped on a few steps as she scrambled down them. Natasha was at her heels, cursing darkly and speaking rapidly into her ear piece, as she followed. Salem wasn't worried about the angry Avenger or about falling down the stairs as she rounded a corner and burst through a door and began to descend another set of stairs.

Her sole focus was on her Soulmate.

"Just _wait_ for a second!" Natasha bit out, but the blonde just kept her feet moving even as her legs began to cramp.

Her loose pale hair slapped against her face and her heart pounded in her chest. Salem finally made it to the long brightly lit hall of the infirmary. Natasha must have called for reinforcements because Steve stood tall and broad in the middle of the hall.

His uniform was in the same torn and dirty state as Nat's uniform, his iconic shield strapped to his back, and his hair dusted with dirt and sticking up in every direction. His bright blue eyes were steady and calm even as his face was pale and posture rigid.

She stumbled to a stop at the sight of him.

His left cheek was turning from dark pink to deep purple and black with yellow splotches trailing to his lower face and eye in a mottled mess. There was a recognizable pattern of harsh metal plates curled into a fist.

"You need to leave," Steve said softly, but she could clearly hear the order in his voice.

"Where is…where is Bucky?" Salem asked, taking a halting step forward, and felt a hand curl around her arm.

"Let's go" she heard Natasha murmur, just as a loud crash echoed dimly through the hall and a terrified nurse tripped through a door just behind Steve and start running from the hall.

Salem took the opportunity to yank her arm free and sprint over the room, squeezing past Steve's large frame as she did. Before she could make it to the door, the man reached forward and snapped the heavy door close.

Salem looked over to the retreating nurse.

Her gloved hands had faint smears of red on them, her brown chin length hair frazzled, and her brown eyes were wide with fright. Chills went through her as her brain started to fill with the memories of gunfire and screams.

' _What if they came back?'_ she thought and she had to lock her knees in order to not collapse on the ground.

Hysteria began to squeeze around her lungs and bubbled up her throat.

She tried once more to move past Steve. A warm hand curled on her upper bicep stopped her.

"Salem," he scolded and she spun around to pin him with wide eyes.

Anger mixing with fear had her brown eyes watering.

"I-I need…I need to see him," she nearly pleaded and barely registered the other Avenger sliding up beside Steve.

The man stared down at her, blue eyes troubled, and she felt her lower lip begin to tremble. Nat cursed again, before reaching out to the blonde woman with her own troubled expression.

"You can't go in there, Salem. Not when he isn't...stable," she explained and confusion briefly overshadowed the fear twisting her stomach into knots.

Natasha glanced over at Steve before her serious green eyes bore into her, "That isn't Bucky in there…It's the Winter Soldier."


	22. The Soldier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for being patient! I'm sorry that it took me forever to finally update. I hope you enjoy~

Salem was ready to scream.

Pacing the long hall of the infirmary, the young woman felt like she was going crazy. It didn’t help that Natasha, Sam, and Tony were watching her closely. The silence that echoed around them rankled across her already frazzled nerves.

“I need to see him,” she said for what felt like the hundredth time and received varying responses of _‘No’_.

“You know that you can’t go in there, Salem,” Natasha said softly and Sam nodded in agreement.

“You know that-” Sam began, but his mouth snapped close when Salem rounded on him.

“I don’t know anything!” she nearly shrieked, “I don’t know how bad he is hurt o-or if he is calling out for me while I’m being forced to stay away!”.

“I understand that this is extremely difficult for you,” Nat murmured, but Salem turned away before she could finish.

Tears burned her amber eyes and she stood in front of the door with her arms crossed tightly around her middle. Steve disappeared in the room two hours ago, and she was still waiting for him to give the all clear. Or to call for a medic. A small sob hiccupped out of her before she could stop and a warm presence registered beside her. The smell of expensive cologne tickled her nose and she glanced over to see Tony staring at the door. He appeared to be lost in thought.

“This isn’t fair,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion and unshed tears, and his whiskey colored eyes flicked in her direction.

“I know, Bambi,” he murmured.

His designer jeans were wrinkled and his black long sleeves was rolled up to his elbows, his clothes disheveled with his constant fidgeting. The others were dressed in clothes from the infirmary, gray sweats and white Under Armor shirts, and she felt her face twist at notion that they were calm enough to change out of their gear.

It also didn’t help that she kept catching their eyes lingering on her exposed Soul Mark curiously and she felt increasingly vulnerable.

“I need…,” she began before stopping abruptly. The words were caught in her throat and she swore she was going to suffocate under the panic continuously squeezing her lungs.

A few stray tears escaped her eyes and a sob broke free from her mouth. Tony was staring at the door in front of him with a storm of emotions flashing across his face, his jaw clenching as she tried to muffle anymore sounds with her hand covering her mouth, and Salem jumped in surprise when he cursed loudly.

“This is ridiculous and I’m going to regret it…JARVIS open the door,” he said and Salem stared in hope as the doors slid open.

Loud cursing behind her and the scramble of feet had her brain kicking into gear. She darted through the door only to stumble to a stop once she made it a few steps from the doorway.

Steve was leaning against a long window, a simple metal chair laying on its side away from the wall, and he looked exhausted and his uniform even more rumbled than she last seen it. His head whipped around once he registered her presence, or heard the loud cursing of Natasha, but he just regarded Salem with serious blue eyes.

“He wouldn’t want you to see him like this,” Steve muttered after a few moments of silence and Salem could only nod in understanding.

“I know…but I need to make sure he is okay,” she replied softly, unable to speak any louder else she would start crying again.

Steve stared at her, no doubt noticing her bloodshot eyes and her tearstained cheeks, before beckoning her to his side. Salem slowly approached and only when she was beside Steve did she turn to look out the glass.

Steve caught her before her knees gave out at the sight of her Soulmate.

Bucky was laid out on a cot, his metal arm anchored to the wall by a thick metal cuff and his other arm resting against the thin mattress and a small tray of medical equipment was shoved against the farthest side away from him beside a small sink and counter. The sheets were white and streaked with dirt and blood and there was smears of red on the white tile floors.

His black under armor shirt stuck to him and tears in the fabric showed numerous scrapes, bruises, and cuts. Bucky’s brown hair was in a wild mess around his head and streaked with dirt and dried blood, but his face was hidden.

She noticed that he was laying perfectly still with only the slight rise and fall of his chest to indicate him breathing.

“We can’t risk sending in a nurse and I can’t get close enough to do it myself,” the Captain muttered, his grip tight yet reassuring on Salem’s arm and waist. She let herself sag against him.

“What happened?” she croaked out, her throat dry and closing in on itself, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

“The HYDRA base we went to had promising leads, but someone was waiting for us,” he began, and Salem could feel tension oozing from his tall body, “We were split up and Bucky was alone. Next thing we know he is coming after us.”

Salem felt tears well in her eyes.

“We managed to knock him unconscious for transportation, but he woke up before his injuries could be looked over,” Steve added and Salem could hear the pain in his voice that he tried to hide.

She couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been on him to hurt his friend and she knew that he was leaving some stuff out for her sake.

Salem reached out and placed her hand on the glass, the cold seeping into her fingers, and she moved to press her other hand against it. Before she knew it, she was resting her forehead against the glass and she shivered against the chill that raced across her skin. She didn’t know how long she stood there, her breath fogging the glass, but she couldn’t force herself to look away from her Soulmate.

Her mind was at once both racing with thoughts and questions while also sluggishly trying to make sense of it all.

She distantly heard talking behind her, and her concentration to send her body heat to her Soulmate through the space separating them was interrupted by a hand lightly touching her back.

“We…we might be able to treat him, but we would have to tranquilize him first,” Natasha murmured and Salem’s sudden flare of outrage was dimmed by confusion.

She leaned back and let her brown eyes roam over Bucky’s prone form.

“He hasn’t moved…maybe he passed out?” she asked in a small voice, finally able to glance over her shoulder to see her friend staring ahead, and frowned.

Natasha’s bright green eyes were sharp and calculating, her beautiful face grim, and she shook her head once.

“He’s just waiting,” she replied in an oddly distant voice.

The silence that stretched between them had Salem finally looking around.

They were the only ones in the room, but she could see the others in the hall talking in quiet whispers amongst themselves through the open door. Once again Salem turned to look at Bucky, at his injuries, and felt sick at the immediate memory that popped in her head.

“You want me to give permission to knock him out and perform medical-whatever on him?” she asked in a tight voice, the memory of the haunted look in Bucky’s eyes when he told her about the experiments he went under while with HYDRA burned into her brain.

“No,” Natasha said simply.

Surprising the blonde who blinked at her, and the taller woman turned towards her.

“There is an intercom in the room connected out here, you can talk to him. Might bring him back,” she explained, but Salem was already nodding her head.

“I’ll do anything for him,” she breathed, the weight of her words heavy between them.

Natasha stared into her eyes, the hard look she gave Salem almost made her want to curl under the nearest rock, but she held her ground. With a quick nod, Natasha spun on her heel and marched to the door, speaking quietly to the others outside, before shutting the door with a small _‘click’_.

Natasha leaned against the door, crossing her arms over her chest, and jutted her chin towards the small box on the opposite side of the glass. Taking a deep breath, Salem slowly approached, her fingers trembling as she reached for the small button, and she had to fight past the sudden swarm of nerves.

It was only the sight of her soldier still and hurt that had her steeling herself. With a last glance to her friend, who nodded in encouragement, that Salem pressed the button.

“Bucky?” she said softly into the speaker and nearly jumped a foot in the air when Bucky’s whole body jerked.

His long legs shuffled across the cot, his body twisting slightly, and his head cocked to the side. His face was still covered. Glancing back at the Widow, who was watching with burning intensity, and Salem turned back to the speaker. She licked her lips, dry and chapped, before pressing the button again.

“Bucky it’s Salem…a-are you okay?” she asked and her voice cracked. Her soulmate shifted a bit more.

A sudden rumbling from the man had her heart start a fast rhythm in her chest.

Looking back towards Natasha, whose bright green eyes were calculating, Salem tried to press herself more against the wall.

As if she could melt into the wall to meet him on the other side.

Another deep rumble had Salem straining to hear him better. Blonde brows drew down in confusion, her brain quickly catching up with her ears, and a frown tugged at her lips.

“Is that…is he speaking Russian?” she asked and heard a sharp intake of breath from her friend.

“He is giving a status report,” she began while sliding up beside Salem, “he is injured.”

At her words, Salem could only blink, before lunging to the door handle that led to the inside of the room.

She was stopped by hard hands gripping her and yanking her back.

“Can you stop doing that?” Nat hissed and the young woman glared at her friend.

“He’s hurt! I am not going to stand by any longer,” she snapped, fully prepared to fight against Nat, before receiving a glare that had her skin erupt in chills.

Natasha stared at her with a grim look.

“I don’t think you understand. That isn’t Bucky in there…it’s the Winter Soldier. He attacked his childhood best friend, nearly killed all of us at some point, and you just want to skip in there like you’re meeting a bunch of kittens?” she said in a tone made of ice and sharp as a knife.

“He is dangerous, Salem” she continued and Salem felt her lower lip tremble even as she kicked her chin up.

“He is my soulmate, Natasha,” she countered fiercely.

The two women stared at each other for what seemed like forever before the redhead released Salem’s arm and held out a small flesh colored item in the palm of her hand.

“Good. Now, since you can’t speak Russian, I’ll be your translator. He doesn’t like me in there so I’ll just be in your ear. I’ll also let the boys in once your inside so we can keep you monitored in case you get in trouble,” she explained with the ease of someone listing what exhibits they were seeing at a museum.

Salem was more than thrown off by the sudden change.

Nat rolled her eyes and wiggled the ear piece snugly against Salem’s ear.

“You are the first person that he has responded to and you are a phycologist that knows what to look for in body language. I won’t question it if it means we can patch him up,” she added gently.

With a few more tips from Natasha, Salem steeled herself with a deep breath, and opened the latch to the door. She shivered at the cool air brushing her arms and her toes curled in her yellow fuzzy socks as she slipped inside the small room before pulling the door shut.

She heard the door click as the lock was engaged and her mouth went dry as she regarded her soulmate.

Bucky was still in the same position, chest rising and falling leisurely, and her slender fingers tangled in the hem of her camisole.

“Bucky?” she whispered, wincing as her voice echoed loudly around them, and she moved a little closer.

“It’s Salem…can you tell me where you’re injured?” she asked glancing over his body to catalogue the wounds now that she was closer.

His shirt was ripped in various places, showing off tan skin that was either bruised or bleeding or both. Dirt caked his pants and shoes, smudging any exposed skin she saw, and she vaguely wondered if he rolled around in the mud. Salem let her brown eyes trail back up only to freeze.

Pale blue eyes, cold and unwavering, were watching her intently.

Her breath caught in her throat and chills ran down her spine. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and stumbled over to the small sink to wash her hands.

“I’m going to try and clean your wounds. Just because you heal fast doesn’t mean you need to have an infection take up,” she explained while tugging on white latex gloves that were a few sizes too big.

She inspected the tray, adding a few more gauze wraps and grabbing some scissors, she turned back to Bucky only to flinch.

Her soldier had shifted his position once more, now fully lifting his head to stare at her, and body more sprawled out. The comfortable stretch of his muscular body reminded her of the big cats she saw at the zoo when she was little.

There was something predatory about the way he watched her, blue eyes intense, and something dark was hidden in the cold depths.

“I’m…I’m going to get closer now,” she said softly and after a few seconds she shuffled a little closer.

Her eyes never left his and the only sound was her harsh breathing. Once she was close to the bed, she left the tray at the foot of the cot, and slid a bit closer until she could feel his body heat. After looking him over with a critical eye, she decided to start with the majority of the injuries, and she flexed her fingers nervously. Salem grabbed the scissors and tried to ignore the way her hands trembled.

“I need to remove your shirt,” she said meeting his eyes as her freckled cheeks began to heat.

The last memory of them together without his shirt flashed through her mind and her face pinked even more. Bucky cocked his head to the side, studying her closely, before he murmured something once more in Russian. Her relief at hearing his low voice was cut short by Natasha’s voice in her ear.

“’You are scared,’” she repeated in a monotone voice and Salem could hear the vague grumbling in the background before the ear piece cut off. She met Bucky’s eyes and offered a small smile.

“I am…but I’m more worried about you,” she confessed and her soulmate continued to watch her.

A few minutes of silence stretched between them before she held up the scissors for him to inspect.

“I need to remove your shirt so I can clean your wounds now,” she said before slowly reaching out to brush her fingers against the bottom of his shirt.

He glanced down at her hands, then back to her face, and he cocked his head once more to the side and remained quiet. Taking it as a sign to continue, she began to delicately peel the shirt from his torso and cut the fabric. The sound of metal on cloth filled the room and Salem tried her best to keep her nerves from showing. Once she got to mid-sternum, she felt him go rigid, and quickly pulled away.

“Sorry,” she murmured and waited until his muscular body relaxed before she leaned forward again. Bucky continued to watch her silently.

“Last cut, I promise,” she muttered while carefully maneuvering to swiftly cut away his shirt.

Her fingers were gentle as she brushed against his arms and she had just closed the scissors on the last cut of the sleeve of his metal arm before the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She glanced up and felt her breath stutter out in surprise. Those cold eyes were watching her closely and she could have sworn that he moved closer. His breath tickled her lips and chin and it took her a few seconds to lean away from him.

There was nothing more she wanted to do than to curl up beside him, but she forced herself to remain focused on her task.

Clearing her throat, she tugged the shredded shirt from under him and tossed it into the small trash can under the sink.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” she muttered in an attempt to distract herself from her thundering heart.

Deciding to wipe the dirt and dried blood would be a good place to start, she rummaged in the cabinets to look for a wash cloth all the while talking to him.

“This whole time I knew something was wrong. Couldn’t sleep or concentrate…couldn’t really do much of anything. Then I kept having this nightmare…,” she let her words die off, finally finding a terry cloth and wetting it with tap water, and turned back towards him.

She eyed his metal arm, where it melded to flesh, and felt a sickening lurch in her stomach.

“Was it more memories?” she mused quietly.

Her soldier just stared at her.

Salem slowly walked back to her spot on the bed and swallowed past the lump in her throat.

“Let me know if I hurt you?” she asked, even as she doubting getting an answer, and started on an unmarred patch of skin on his side.

For the next few minutes she slowly and gently cleaned his wounds and the dirt, making quick trips to the sink to rinse her wash cloth, and she began to finally feel the tension ease from her shoulders. She got to a more serious cut on his ribcage, and winced as she tried to clean it as gently as possible, and jumped when she felt him twitch underneath her hands. Immediately she jerked her hands back with wide eyes.

“Sorry!” she nearly shouted and was shocked to hear him mutter something, lips twitching, and the voice in her ear sounded just a fraction surprised as well.

“It tickled,” Natasha repeated and Salem couldn’t help the small smile that began to curl her own lips.

“Sorry…I’ll be more careful,” she said and bowed her head to finish her task.

The time it took her to finish washing him off and applying ointment and bandages to the more serious wounds was filled with the sound of her talking softly. The tense atmosphere slowly eased and Salem was finally able to draw in a deep breath. Bucky remained quiet as she rambled, eyes thoughtful yet calculating, and she tried to not let it get to her. Soon she was done and peeled off the gloves.

The young woman nearly jumped when she suddenly felt calloused fingers brush against her shoulder. Snapping her gaze back up to meet his, she could hardly breath as the fingers drifted up to brush against her Mark, and his pale eyes were thoughtful.

She didn’t dare move as he continued to trace the name etched on her skin and warmth spread throughout her body while goosebumps erupted across her skin.

Her heart pounded in her chest and blue eyes flicked up to her face from where he was watching his fingers intently, and something shifted in his expression.

_‘Definitely not how I pictured this going,’_ she thought while fighting the urge to lean further into his touch. Her cheeks burning at his close proximity. His fingers drifted up to her throat, no doubt feeling her thundering pulse, and he cocked his head.

_“Красивый,”_ he murmured before the door slammed open by Steve who looked tense and ready to drag her from Bucky, clearly misreading his friend’s actions as something harmful.

“Time to leave, Salem,” Steve said and she could only watch as horror as Bucky’s frame tensed and any warmth in his gaze disappeared within the span between heartbeats.

Salem didn’t have time to move before his free hand shifted and wrapped tightly around her throat and squeezed.

**Author's Note:**

> ***Please read and review! I would love to know what you think!***


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